Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CONNECTION TEVIE FREE DATA MESSAGING
THROUGH TELEPHONE NETWORKS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of communicating data on
land-line or cellular telephone networks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Mobile services such as, for example, trucking, courier and delivery
services are required to maintain some form of communication channel with
their
dispatcher in order to receive instructions on the one hand, and to update the
dispatcher as to their location and service activities, on the other.
Stationary
IO services such as, for example, vending machines, may also require a similar
communication channel.
Such communication channels can be realized, for example, using
existing telephone networks, both wired and cellular, radio communication
equipment and pagers. Customized pagers are particularly popular. Such pagers
IS use short messaging triggers in which each message is compressed to
correspond
to a given short code. Services having a large fleet of monitored equipment
such
as vehicles, in the case of mobile equipment, or vending machines, in the case
of
stationary equipment, can reduce data communication costs by using customized
pagers. However, such communication costs can only be minimized but not
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completely eliminated. Similarly, telephone messages can be coded, but again
this
can only minimize connect time costs, but not eliminate them.
GLOSSARY
In the following specification and claims the following terms, some of
which are conventional and others which are coined, will be used:
IN - Intelligent Network - A telephone network, land-line or cellular, based
on
intelligent network switches that generate signalling according to a
predefined
protocol which enables intelligent filtering of a call, depending on at least
its source
(caller) and its target {recipient) by generating a "ring" at the called
station.
CN - Conventional Network - A telephone network, land-line or cellular, which
does not include intelligent network signalling of the switches.
To Call - to communicate or try to communicate by telephone.
Caller - a communicating party that places a call.
Beginning-of Call - the earliest event at which a receiver can detect a call.
Clock trigger - a signal during a call procedure taken as a reference point in
time
from which a duration of the call is measured. For example, any "ring" could
be
used as a clock trigger, as well as the beginning-of call as defined above.
Recipient, Receiver - a communicating party that is called.
Message Code (MSC) - a code specifying in sufficient details (upon decoding)
the
contents of a specific message.
Message - any form of information including but not limited by instructions,
data
and any required combination of words and or numerals.
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Caller Identity Code (IDC) - a code specifying in sufficient details the
identification
of a message source.
Message Arrival Time (MAT) - the time at which a receiving party starts to
receive
a message.
Message Time of Relevance (MTR) - the time of relevance of a message data.
That
is, the time at which the reported event happened.
Identified Message (IDM) - a combination of IDC and MSC.
ACKnowledge (ACK) - confirmation of correct receipt by a message recipient.
Not ACKnowledge (NACK) - recipient signal for a failure in receiving a
message.
Partial ACKnowledge (PACK) - recipient signal for a message that was received
correctly but not in full.
Active Messaging Party (AMP) - a party in the communication procedure that has
the ability to call the other party for transmitting or receiving data.
Passive Messaging Party (PAP) - a party in the communication procedure that
has
the ability to receive and decode messages and to prepare messages for AMP
polling, but not to call the other party.
REGistration (REG) - a signal sent by an AMP to any receiver, meaning "1 am
the
current party to the communication and your answers or messages should be
addressed to me, and only to me ".
Modem or Line Interface (MLI) - an electronic board which can receive and
transmit calls and generate "rings" accordingly, including switching a given
line
response tone from 'free " to "busy " and vice-versa.
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BusylFree tone generator (BlFTG) - a module, hardware and/or software, which
can command a line to switch from 'free" to "busy" states or vice-versa. For
certain types of MLI the B/FTG can be a pure software module.
Polling (POL) - a procedure activated by an AMP, through which it receives a
message even though the other party did not have to generate a single call.
Line - short for cellular or land "telephone line", each line being associated
with
a telephone number.
Line index - a number indicative of a telephone line. A line index therefore
also
corresponds to the telephone number associated with the telephone line.
Time-out - a predetermined time allotted to a caller for transmitting the
elements
of a message code. If the time-out is exceeded then the message coding
(encoding
by the sender, decoding by the receiver) procedure is terminated.
Time-out procedure - a procedure for terminating a process after time-out has
elapsed.
SUlVEVIARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the present invention to provide a method and a
system for communicating between two or more communicating parties using
telephone networks, in which connection time costs are substantially
completely
eliminated.
The telephone networks can be land-line or cellular, and the transmis-
sion of a call by a caller to a recipient can be via any medium including via
satellite.
The invention, in particular, pertains to the communicating of a code
between two communicating parties. The code will generally be either a caller
identity code, identifying the caller, or a message code representative of a
message.
Terms such as, transmitting a code and sending a code will also be employed.
,.,
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However, it should be clear that in accordance with the invention a call is
never
answered.
No message code is transmitted in the generally accepted understanding
. of the term. That is, no stream of bits containing the message is actually
transmitted from the caller to the recipient along a line, requiring the
recipient to
answer the call in order to receive the message. In accordance with the
present
invention a call is never answered.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a method for
communicating between a caller and a recipient via telephone networks
comprising
the steps of:
(a) the caller placing at least one call from at least one caller telephone
line
to at least one recipient telephone line;
(b) the recipient receiving but not answering the at least one call, whereby
a code is communicated between the caller and the recipient; and
I5 (c) determining a message from the communicated code.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, the code is communi-
Gated by the recipient noting which recipient telephone lines are called and
if more
than one line is called in which order they are called.
In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, the code is
communicated by the recipient noting from which caller telephone lines the at
least
one call is made and if more than one call is made in which order the calls
are
made .
In accordance with a third aspect of the invention, the code is communi-
Gated by the recipient preparing at least one recipient telephone line in a
given state
and wherein the caller notes the state of the at least one prepared recipient
telephone line.
Generally, the given state of a recipient telephone line is chosen from
amongst the group that includes busy and free states.
By one embodiment, the at least one call is received at a first time value
and wherein the code is communicated by the recipient noting which recipient
telephone lines are called together with the elapsed time between the first
time
value and disconnection.
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By another embodiment, the at least one call is received at a first time
value and wherein the code is communicated by the recipient noting from which
caller telephone lines the at least one call is made together with the elapsed
time
between the first time value and disconnection.
Preferably, the first time value is the time at which a clock trigger of
the call occurred.
Preferably, the telephone networks are intelligent networks.
Alternatively, the telephone networks are conventional networks.
For intelligent networks, the network provides a caller identity code
which is automatically transmitted on communication signals transmitted
through
the telephone networks when the caller places a call, and which is capable of
being
automatically decoded from the communication signals.
For conventional networks, the caller, if desired, farther provides a
caller identity code being provided by the caller calling recipient telephone
lines
indicative of the caller identity code.
Further in accordance with the present invention there is provided a
method for communicating that utilizes telephone networks, wherein telephone
call
are placed but not answered, the method comprising the following steps:
placing at least one telephone call by a caller, whereby at least one
telephone
line is called;
receiving at least one telephone call without answering the call by a
recipient;
and
relating the at least one call of the caller to recipient called but not
answered
telephone number to a given code; the code being indicative of an identified
message.
Yet further in accordance with the present invention there is provided
a method for communicating that utilizes telephone networks, wherein telephone
call are placed but not answered, the method comprising the steps of:
placing at least one telephone call by a caller, whereby at least one
telephone
number is transmitted;
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receiving at least one telephone number by a recipient in response to the
transmitted at least one telephone number, without answering the placed at
least one
telephone call; and
relating the received at least one caller telephone number to a given code;
the
code being indicative of an identified message.
Still further in accordance with the present invention there is provided
a method for communicating that utilizes telephone networks, wherein telephone
call are placed but not answered, and wherein a telephone line state
determines
authorization for continuation of the method for communicating, authorization
being
given if the telephone line state is in an "authorization-continue" state; the
method
comprising the steps of:
placing at least one unanswered telephone call by an active caller to at least
one passive caller telephone line and upon receiving "authorization-continue"
state;
placing a series of at least one unanswered telephone call by the active
caller
to the at least one passive caller line; and
noting the telephone line states of the series of at least one unanswered
telephone call, whereby a series of states indicative of a message code is
obtained,
the code being indicative of an identified message.
Still yet further in accordance with the present invention there is
provided a method for communicating that exploits existing telephone networks,
wherein telephone call are placed but not answered, and
wherein the time from a first time value till disconnection of the call
together with
the called line number generates a code-element of a coded message; the method
comprising the steps of:
placing at least one telephone call by a caller, whereby at least one
telephone
line is called but not answered;
receiving at least one telephone call without answering the call by a
recipient;
and noting the time from the first time value till disconnection of the call;
and
. relating the at least one call of the caller to recipient called but not
answered
telephone number together with the time noted from the first time value till
disconnection to a given code; the code being indicative of an identified
message.
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Additionally in accordance with the present invention there is provided
a method for communicating that utilizes telephone networks,
wherein telephone call are placed but not answered, and wherein the time from
a
first time value till disconnection of the call together with the calling line
number
generate a code-element of a coded message; the method comprising the steps
of:
placing at least one telephone call by a caller, whereby at least one
telephone
line is called;
receiving at least one telephone number by a recipient in response to the
transmitted at least one telephone number, without answering the placed at
least one
telephone call; and noting the time from the first time value till
disconnection of
the call; and
relating the received at least one caller telephone number together with the
time noted from the first time value till disconnection to a given code; the
code
being indicative of an identified message.
Preferably, the first time value is the time at which a clock trigger of
the call occurred.
In accordance with the present invention there is also provided a system
for communicating between a caller and a recipient via telephone networks
comprising:
(a} means for the caller placing at least one call from at least one caller
telephone line to at least one recipient telephone line;
(b) means for the recipient receiving but not answering the at least one call,
whereby a code is communicated between the caller and the recipient; and
(c) means for determining a message from the communicated code.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, the code is communi-
Gated by the recipient noting which recipient telephone lines are called and
if more
than one line is called in which order they are called.
In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, the code is
communicated by the recipient noting from which caller telephone lines the at
least
one call is made and if more than one call is made in which order the calls
are
made.
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In accordance with a third aspect of the invention, the code is communi-
Gated by the recipient preparing at least one recipient telephone line in a
given state
and wherein the caller notes the state of the at least one prepared recipient
telephone line.
Generally, the given state of a recipient telephone line is chosen from
amongst the group' of busy and free states.
By one embodiment, the at least one call is received at a first time value
and wherein the code is communicated by the recipient noting which recipient
telephone lines are called together with the elapsed time between the first
time
value and disconnection.
By another embodiment, the at least one call is received at a first time
value and wherein the code is communicated by the recipient noting from which
caller telephone lines the at least one call is made together with the elapsed
time
between the first time value and disconnection.
Preferably, the first time value is the time at which a clock trigger of
the call occurred.
Preferably, the telephone networks are intelligent networks.
Alternatively, the telephone networks are conventional networks.
For intelligent networks, the network provides a caller identity code
which is automatically transmitted on communication signals transmitted
through
the telephone networks when the caller places a call, and which is capable of
being
automatically decoded from the communication signals.
For conventional networks, the caller, if desired, further provides a
caller identity code being provided by the caller calling recipient telephone
lines
indicative of the caller identity code.
Further in accordance with the present invention there is provided a
system for communicating that utilizes telephone networks, wherein telephone
call
are placed but not answered, the system comprising:
. means for placing at least one telephone call by a caller, whereby at least
one
telephone line is called;
means for receiving at least one telephone call without answering the call by
a recipient; and
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means for relating the at least one call of the caller to recipient called but
not
answered telephone number to a given code; the code being indicative of an
identified message.
Yet further in accordance with the present invention there is provided
a system for communicating that utilizes telephone networks, wherein telephone
call
are placed but not answered, the system comprising:
means for placing at least one telephone call by a caller, whereby at least
one
telephone number is transmitted;
means for receiving at least one telephone number by a recipient in response
to the transmitted at least one telephone number, without answering the placed
at
least one telephone call; and
means for relating the received at least one caller telephone number to a
given
code; the code being indicative of an identified message.
Still further in accordance with the present invention there is provided
a system for communicating that utilizes telephone networks, wherein telephone
call
are placed but not answered, and wherein a telephone line state determines
authorization for continuation of communicating, authorization being given if
the
telephone line state is in an "authorization-continue" state; the system
comprising:
means for placing at least one unanswered telephone call by an active caller
to at least one passive caller telephone line and upon receiving
"authorization--
continue" state;
means for placing a series of at least one unanswered telephone call by the
active caller to the at least one passive caller line; and
means for noting the telephone line states of the series of at least one
unanswered telephone call, whereby a series of states indicative of a message
code
is obtained, the code being indicative of an identified message.
Still yet further in accordance with the present invention there is
provided a system for communicating that exploits existing telephone networks,
wherein telephone call are placed but not answered, and
wherein the time from a first time value till disconnection of the call
together with
the called line number generates a code-element of a coded message; the system
comprising:
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means for placing at least one telephone call by a caller, whereby at least
one
telephone line is called but not answered;
means for receiving at least one telephone call without answering the call by
a recipient; and noting the time from the first time value till disconnection
of the
call; and
means for relating the at least one call of the caller to recipient called but
not
answered telephone number together with the time noted from the first time
value
till disconnection to a given code; the code being indicative of an identified
message.
Additionally in accordance with the present invention there is provided
a system for communicating that utilizes telephone networks,
wherein telephone call are placed but not answered, and wherein the time from
a
first time value till disconnection of the call together with the calling line
number
generate a code-element of a coded message; the system comprising the:
means for placing at least one telephone call by a caller, whereby at least
one
telephone line is called;
means for receiving at least one telephone number by a recipient in response
to the transmitted at least one telephone number, without answering the placed
at
least one telephone call; and noting the time from the first time value till
disconnection of the call; and
means for relating the received at least one caller telephone number together
with the time noted from the first time value till disconnection to a given
code; the
code being indicative of an identified message.
Preferably, the first time value is the time at which a clock trigger of
the call occurred.
An active messaging party is used in the system of the invention for
transmitting message codes and a passive messaging party for receiving message
codes and for preparing message codes for polling.
Devices requiring status reports of at least one state of the device are
used in the system of the invention. A typical such device is an automated
point
of service requiring status reports selected from at least one of the type and
quantity
of stock and service required for the automated point of service and faults
and
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failures of the automated point of service that are required to be fixed.
Another
typical such device is a manned point of service requiring status reports
selected
from at least one of the type and quantity of stock and service required for
the
manned point of service and faults and failures of the manned point of service
that
are required to be fixed.
Devices requiring status reports of values read from the device are also
used in the system of the invention. A typical such device is a utility meter.
Also used in a system in accordance with the invention are device
commands for applying to a device having a given state. The device command
causes a change in the given state. A typical such device command is a
controller
command for applying to an apparatus having a given state. The controller
command causing a change in the given state and the apparatus. Typical
examples
of such apparatuses are e.g. water valves, traffic lights, electric current
swithces
and smart house controllers.
Today, the ID or LINE number of a given public telephone-network
subscriber is based on a unique number of ordered digits. The number of digits
of
such ID depends (inter alia) on the total number of the network subscribers
and its
expected growth rate. The network operator together with the subscriber
community have a clear preference to keep the line-number as short as
possible.
However, in order to give room for the growth of subscriber community, it is
customary to let the number of different possible combinations of line-numbers
be
at least many tens of percents bigger than the actual number of subscribers.
Nevertheless, many operators take into account that their infrastructure
should be
able to support a major change of the number system, such as adding a digit to
current line-numbers in order to give room to an increase of an order of
magnitude
in subscriber number. Consequently, the infrastructure supporting most
intelligent
networks today particularly the digital ones can be switched from a given
number
of line-number-digits to a new one, having one character more, in no time, and
the
IDC coupled to the new numbers will be transmitted to the receiver with the
extra
digits) automatically. In the context of the invention the location which
stores the
caller ID (IDC) on the called ID and which further has free room is referred
to
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herein as "extended identification code" (EIC). The EIC refers to caller
telephone
number (CEIC) or recipient telephone number (REIC).
Accordingly, in accordance with yet another aspect of the invention
(hereinafter "extended encoding message aspect's a currently unused portion of
the
EIC in intelligent networks will be exploited for increasing the repertoire of
messages transmitted between caller and recipient whilst obviating the need to
increase correspondingly the number of lines that are allocated for
transmitting the
extended set of messages. According to one embodiment of the invention, at
least
one character or other value (constituting a code element of a code portion)
that
resides in the currently unexploited section of the CEIC field (hereinafter
"least
significant portion " (LSP)) is attached to the IDC section and thereby
increase the
number of messages that may be transmitted.
Consider for example one line linking between the caller and recipient
and one free location (constituting the LSP) which may hold the values as 0-9
representative of ten different messages. When the sender appends to the IDC a
value from 0 to 9 (depending upon the desired message to be transmitted), the
telephone exchange routes the call from the calling end to the receiving end
with
the code element being transparent to the intelligent network. A suitable
device at
the receiver's end accesses this specific location and extracts the value
stored
therein. By inquiring a look up table the message is easily decoded. By this
approach, so called "many-to-one " infrastructure is emulated by using only
one
physical line.
The advantage of the proposed scheme resides mainly in its simplicity.
The intelligent exchange network will still refer only to the MSP and what
remains
to be done is for a dedicated device or module to access and extract the
relevant
LSP and decoding therefrom the desired message.
Whilst the description above illustrates the proposed extended encoded
message aspect with respect to one telephone line with the LSP attached to the
IDC, those versed in the art will readily appreciate that this is, of course,
only one
out of many possible variants. Thus, another code element may be an LSP
attached
to the receiver telephone number (constituting REIC) of the call assuming, of
course, that also here there is available a section transparent to the
intelligent
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network. Of course if there are x free locations in the EIC and the LSP
constitutes
y (y <_ x) locations, the LSP may be placed at any y location within the x
available
location.
Thus in its broadest aspect message code may include a succession of
elements at least one of which each includes an MSP+LSP where MSP stands for
either or both of the called and receiver telephone number and the LSP
constituted
by one or more free locations. Each location may hold a digit or other code
provided that the device that the code may be decoded i.e. it is possible to
extract,
decode and or obtain therefrom a desired message. As explained above, the
elapsed time between the first time value and disconnection may constitute yet
another code element of a code portion in order to further increase the
repertoire
of possible messages transmitted from the caller to recipient. As will be
exemplified below, the order of the elements may, if desired, be significant
for
encoding messages. This scheme, may, if desired, be applicable to more than
one
line in which one or more telephone lines of the calling telephone lines may
constitute a code element (or code elements) and/or one or more telephone
lines
of the receiving telephone lines may constitute a code element (or code
elements),
thereby significantly increasing the number of messages without requiring to
likewise extend the associated infrastructure.
Within the context of the invention, the encoding of messages may thus
use in addition to code portion consisting of at least one code elements being
an
LSP in the manner specified, other types of code portion such as ringing time,
calling telephone line receiving telephone line, and possibly others all as
required
and appropriate.
The present invention provides thus for a method for sending an
encoded message, selected from a set of at least one message, from at least
one
telephone line of a calling end to at least one telephone line of receiving
end in an
intelligent telephone network, comprising:
(a) at the calling end, encoding the message so as to include at least a code
portion which is transparent to the intelligent telephone network;
t . , . T
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(b) routing the encoded message via at least one call from at least one of
said
telephone line of the calling end to at /east one of said telephone line of
the
receiving end;
(c) at the receiving end, receiving but not answering the at least one call
and
decoding therefrom the encoded message.
Still further the invention provides for a system for sending an encoded
message, selected from a set of at least one message, from at least one
telephone
line of a calling end to at least one telephone line of receiving end in an
intelligent
telephone network, comprising:
(a) at the calling end, encoder for encoding the message so as to include at
least a code portion which is transparent to the intelligent telephone
network;
(b) router for routing the encoded message via at least one call from at least
one of said telephone line of the calling end to at least one of said
telephone line
of the receiving end;
(c) at the receiving end, receiver for receiving but not answering the at
least
one call and decoding therefrom the encoded message.
Still further, the invention provides for use in a system of the kind
specified:
at the calling end, encoder for encoding the message so as to include
at least a code portion which is transparent to the intelligent telephone
network;
router for routing the encoded message via at least one call from at /east one
of said telephone line of the calling end to at least one of said telephone
line of the
receiving end.
The invention further provides use in a system of the kind specified:
at the receiving end, receiver for receiving but not answering the at
least one call and decoding therefrom the encoded message.
It should be noted that any reference to "time t" on time interval "t1t"
should be construed in the context of the description and appended claims as
encompassing also substantially t and substantially Ot. Thus by way of non
limiting
example, when referring to the following statement "the first time value is
the time
at which a clock trigger of the call occurred", also encompasses a situation
where
the first time precedes or is delayed by Ot in respect of said clock trigger
event. By
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way of another non limiting example, reference to e.g. "the elapsed time
between
the first time (tl) value and disconnection (t2) should not be construed,
merely as
tz-tl but may be construed as encompassing t2~Ot'-tltOt" where fit' and fit"
are
not necessarily identical.
It should be further borne in mind that in the context of the description
and appended claims, any reference to "means plus " function is not bound to
the
specific example that is provided in the description but rather encompasses
any
known per se hardware and/or software realization for accomplishing the
function.
Whilst as will be readily appreciated from the description and the
claims, the invention exploits on the concept that transmission of messages do
not
incur costs, those versed in the art will readily appreciate that the system
and
method of the invention may be utilized in conjunction with transactions that
incur
costs, all as required and appropriate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a better understanding the invention will now be described, by way
of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is an illustrative block diagram of a communication scenario for the
communication of data between two parties;
Fig. 2 is an illustrative block diagram of a typical communication scenario
wherein data is communicated between an operation center and a number of
operating points;
Fig. 3 is an illustrative block diagram showing a caller in communication with
a recipient via telephone network;
Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing the principal steps of the method of the
invention in accordance with a broad aspect of the invention;
Fig. 5 is an illustrative block diagram showing generally the modules of an
active messaging party unit in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
invention;
Fig. 6 is an illustrative block diagram showing generally the modules of a
passive messaging party unit in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
invention;
r
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Fig. 7 is a flow chart showing the principle steps for caller identity code
decoding by a receiver utilizing either intelligent or conventional network
operations;
Fig. 8 is a flow chart showing the principle steps for caller identity code
encoding by a caller utilizing either intelligent or conventional network
operations;
Fig. 9 is a flow chart showing the principle steps of the receiver logic of a
mufti-line receiver for receiving a message code from a single line active
messaging
party;
Fig. 10 is a flow chart showing the principle steps of a single-line active
messaging party logic for transmitting a message code to a mufti-line
receiver;
Fig. 11 is a flow chart showing the principle steps of the receiver logic of a
single-line receiver for receiving a message code from a mufti-line active
messaging
party;
Fig. 12 is a flow chart showing the principle steps of a mufti-line active
messaging party logic for transmitting a message code to a single-line
receiver;
Fig. 13 is a flow chart showing the principle steps of a mufti-line receiver
logic for message code poling by a single-line caller;
Fig. 14 is a flow chart showing the principle steps of a single-line caller
logic
for message code poling from a mufti-line receiver;
Fig. 15 is a flow chart showing the principle steps of the receiver logic of a
single-line receiver for receiving a message code from a mufti-line active
messaging
party; and
Fig. 16 is a flow chart showing the principle steps of a mufti-line active
messaging party logic for transmitting a message code to a single-line
receiver.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Attention is first drawn to Fig. 1 showing an illustrative block diagram
of a communication scenario for the communication of data between two parties
10
and 12. The communication medium 14 is a telephone network which can be
cellular, wired or a combination of both. The telephone network can be a
conventional network or an intelligent network or a combination thereof.
Either
of the parties may be an operation center or an operating point. Communicating
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parties 10 and 12 may be provided with a plurality of telephone lines, (i.e.
they are
multi-line systems) or with one telephone line (i.e., they are single-line
systems).
In a typical communication scenario shown in Fig. 2, data is communi
cated between a single operation center 16 and a plurality of operating points
18,
of which only three are shown for the sake of simplicity. Preferably, but not
necessarily, operation center 16 is a mufti-line system and operating points
18 are
single-line systems. An operation center is typically, but not necessarily,
manned
by a dispatcher or service organizer, though it could be a fully automatic
computerized system, whereas the operating points could be, for example,
vending
machines, utility meters, or mobile service personnel required to receive or
poll
messages from the operation center and to transmit messages to the operation
center. Data messaging between two single-line communicating parties is
conducted more efficiently over intelligent networks.
In accordance with the present invention, and as will be described in
greater detail below, data is communicated between communicating parties such
as
10 and 12, or more specifically between operation center I6 and operating
points
18, by a first party calling a telephone line, or telephone lines of a second
party
without the second party actually answering the call. In general, data is
communi-
cated by noting which telephone lines were called, or from which telephone
lines
the calling was made. Data is also communicated by noting the time elapsed
from
the first telephone "ring" until disconnection. Data is further communicated
by
noting the states of called lines, since by setting the called lines at "busy
" or "free "
a binary code is set up.
Although the communication of data is bi-directional, reference will be
made in the following to Fig. 3 which shows a caller 20 in communication with
a
recipient 22 via telephone network 14.
Attention is now drawn to Fig. 4 showing the principal steps of the
method of the invention in accordance with a broad aspect of the invention for
communicating between caller 20 and recipient 22 via telephone network 14. At
step 24 caller 20 places at least one call from at least one caller telephone
line to
at least one recipient telephone line. At step 26, recipient 22 receives but
does not
answer the at least one call placed by the caller, whereby a code is
communicated
........ ~ . .. i ., .*..
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between the. caller and the recipient. At step 28, a message is determined
from the
communicated message code, e.g. by looking up a look-up table correlating
message codes with messages.
- In accordance with a first aspect of the method of the invention the code
is communicated by recipient 22 noting which recipient telephone lines are
called
by caller 20 without answering the caller placed calls. Furthermore, if the
caller
places more than one call, the recipient also notes the order in which the
recipient
lines are called. The communicated code is given by the recipient lines
called,
taking into consideration the order in which they are called.
In order to illustrate the method in accordance with the first aspect of
the invention, consider the case in which recipient 22 has ten telephone lines
and
caller 20 calls recipient telephone lines 2, 5, 9 and in that order. If each
of the
numbers from 1 to 10 and each combination of the numbers from 1 to 10 is
related
to a given message code, known to both caller 20 and recipient 22, then by
noting
that recipient telephones lines 2, 5, 9 were called, and in that order,
recipient 22
has received a message from caller 20 via telephone network 14 without having
answered the recipient called telephone lines. Another message would be
related
to the combination 5, 2, 9. Yet another message would be related to the
combina-
tion 5, 2 and a further message to a single number, say 4.
Therefore, messages can be communicated between two communicating
parties via a telephone network without requiring placed telephone call to be
answered. This basic principle of the invention is also utilized in the other
aspects
of the invention described below.
In accordance with a second aspect of the method of the invention,
relevant for intelligent network operations only, the code is communicated by
the
recipient noting from which caller telephone lines the recipient lines are
called.
Furthermore, if the caller places more than one call, the recipient also notes
the
order in which the calls are made.
For example, suppose the caller has ten telephone lines and that the
caller places calls from lines 2, 3, 7, 10 and in that order, to the
recipient. The
recipient notes that recipient's lines were called from caller's lines 2, 3,
7, 10, and
that the calls were made in that order. Again, the recipient does not answer
the
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placed calls. Hence, by noting from which caller's lines the calls were made,
and
which order, a message has been communicated between caller 20 and recipient
22
via telephone network 14 without recipient answering the placed calls.
In accordance with a third aspect of the method of the invention, to the
steps shown in Fig. 4 is added the further step of the recipient preparing at
least
one recipient telephone line in either a line-busy or a line-free state. For
example,
let there be five recipient lines and denote by "0" a line-busy state and by "
1 " a
line-free state. Let the first, second, third, fourth and fifth recipient
lines be set
at 0, 1, 1, 0, I, respectively. The caller calls the recipient lines, starting
from line
one and ending with line five, and notes the state of each line. In this way
the
caller polls the code 0, 1, l, 0, 1 from the recipient. A message is then
determined
from the polled code by relating the code to an a priori known message. It
should
be noted that using a "line-busy", "line free" code is equivalent to
communicating
through a binary code.
Noting caller or recipient telephone lines or the state of recipient
telephone lines are not the only ways in which data can be communicated
between
two communicating parties via telephone networks without answering telephone
call. Another possibility is for the recipient to count the number of rings
from the
first ring until disconnection of a caller's telephone call. However, this
approach
is less robust since the number of rings transmitted by the caller is not
always equal
to the number of rings received by the recipient. Instead, and in accordance
with
a fourth aspect of the method of the invention, a code is communicated by the
recipient noting which recipient telephone lines are called together with the
elapsed
time between a clock trigger and disconnection.
Similarly, and in accordance with a fifth aspect of the method of the
invention a code is communicated by the recipient noting from which caller
telephone line calls are made together with the elapsed time between a clock
trigger
and disconnection.
Figs . 5 to 14, to be described below, demonstrate a number of specific
embodiments of modules and methods of the invention. Those versed in the art
will readily realize that the invention is not bound by the specific
embodiments
,.*
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illustrated in the figures and that modifications of these specific
embodiments also
fall within the scope of the invention.
Attention is now drawn to Fig. 5 showing an illustrative block diagram
of the essential modules of an active messaging party unit 50 in accordance
with
a preferred embodiment of the invention.
Central processing unit 52 is a message code generator (i.e., it is an
encoder). In most cases 52 operates as an interpreter transforming a message
into
an ordered list of telephone numbers to be dialed serially by Communication
Controller 54 which utilizes at least one modem or line interface 56 connected
to
an associated Iine. It should be noted that a single modem or Iine interface
is fully
sufficient for the active messaging party unit's operation including the
polling of
a message from a passive messaging party. However, several modem or line
interface's, each connected to its associated line, makes the active messaging
party
unit's operation more efficient, particularly when it is used as a receiver as
well as
a transmitter.
Intelligent Network-Data-Decoder 58 (relevant only for Intelligent
Network operations) demodulates the caller identity code and message arrival
time
data, modulated by the network operator at the network switches, usually, but
not
necessarily, between the first and second rings, and transfers them both to
communication controller 54 that filters out "illegal calling lines", that is,
calling
telephone numbers not registered as participating members of the connection-
time
free coding system. It should be noted that in the case of digital networks,
the
intelligent network data is decoded according to a data protocol used by the
digital
network. Caller identity code / message code decoder 60 constructs the caller
identity code (for CN operations only) and the incoming message code and
transfer
them to the IDM analyzer 62 (a processor) which gives the incoming message its
full meaning, consisting of the message source and the message contents. The
message code, both for incoming and outgoing messages, is preferably
constructed
from the most significant message element to the least significant message
element.
Utilizing this feature, a partial message can be decoded even when the
messaging
procedure has not been fully completed.
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Passive messaging party polling controller 64 operates in conjunction
with communication controller 54 to call a passive messaging party Iine by
line to
poll a specially prepared message.
Modules 52 through 64 define a pure active messaging party architec
tore. Several extra Iines, comprising collectively a queuing module and
collectively
designated by the reference numeral 70 are used for queuing callers in order
to
avoid mixing of messaging procedures. It should be noted that each of the
extra
lines is coupled to a "busy"l"free" tone generator enabling communication
controller 54 to change the line's state from ' free" to "busy" and vice-
versa.
It should be noted that queuing module 70 is not essential if active
messaging party unit 50 does not operate under any circumstances as a polled
party
in an intelligent network sharing the polled lines with standard data lines .
The
queuing module is also not essential in intelligent or conventional network
operations when the active messaging party receives messages from a single
communicating party (typically an operation center). When messaging party unit
50 does play the role of a standard multiple-line receiver, then queuing
module 70
is always required when operating in conjunction with a conventional network.
When operating in conjunction with an intelligent network queuing module 70 is
required for acknowledgment and polling purposes only. The use and operation
of
the extra Iines comprising queuing module 70 will be described in detail with
reference to specific applications. A brief description of the principle
function of
each line is given below.
Queuing module 70 comprises a message-registration line 72, an
acknowledge-registration line 74, an answer-line 76 and a polling-registration
line
78. The first line to be called by a caller, utilizing conventional network
operations, is message-registration line 72. If the line is "free" then the
caller can
proceed with a desired messaging procedure, whereas if the line is "busy" ,
then the
caller is unauthorized to continue with the messaging procedure and should re-
call
message-registration line 72 until it is "free".
Polling-registration line 78 is for identifying the caller and signaling the
receiver to prepare a message code relevant to the specific caller. It also
blocks
i
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access for other con-current callers, through switching both message-
registration
line 72 and polling-registration line 78 to "busy"
Answer-line 76 is used to check if there is a message waiting for the
caller. If there is a message waiting then answer-Line 76 will be set to
"busy",
following the caller's interrogation of the registration line.
Acknowledge-registration line 74 can be used for finalizing the
messaging procedure by a request for an acknowledgment from the receiver,
verifying that a correct message code has been received.
Attention is now drawn to Fig. 6 showing an illustrative block diagram
of the essential modules of a passive messaging party unit 80 in accordance
with
a preferred embodiment of the invention.
Combined central processing unit and non-volatile memory 82 decodes
received message codes, and encodes messages for polling by an active
messaging
party. Message decoding is conducted utilizing a plurality of data lines 84 (N
lines
are shown in the figure) each connected to a modem or line interface 86
connected
in turn to an associated line. Each of the data lines 84 is coupled to a
"busy"I' free"
tone generator enabling central processing unit 82 to change the line's state
from
"free" to "busy" and vice-versa. It is emphasized that the "busy"l"free" tone
generators are required only if the receiver is to be polled. Data lines 84
are called
serially by an active messaging party. Preferably, the first line called is
the most
significant element code and the last line called is the least significant
element of
the code. For conventional network operations, the prefix of the code is the
caller's identity code, while for intelligent network operations, the calls
made by
the active messaging party encode the message code only.
Queuing module 90 comprises a message-registration line 92, an
acknowledge-registration line 94, an answer-line 96 and a polling-registration
line
98. Queuing module 90 is used for queuing callers in order to avoid mixing of
messaging procedures. Each of the lines 92, 94, 96 and 98 is coupled to a
"busy"I "free" tone generator enabling central processing unit 82 to change
each one
of the lines state's from "free" to "busy" and vice-versa. Lines 92, 94, 96
and 98
are further coupled to modem or line interfaces 102, 104, 106 and 108,
respective-
ly. The basic operation of lines 92, 94, 96 and 98 is identical to the basic
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operation of lines 72, 74, 76 and 78 and its description will therefore not be
repeated. However, it should be noted that the message code registration line
is
not used for intelligent network operations and the acknowledge registration
and
answer registration lines are used only if the receiver is a passive messaging
party.
The polling registration line and the "busy"I "free" tone generators coupled
to the
N data lines 84 are only used for polling operations.
Intelligent network-data-decoder 110 is utilized in the case of intelligent
network operations for extracting the caller identity code and message arrival
time
data, through demodulation or protocol decoding for digital networks, enabling
on-line identification of the caller at each line called, and consequently
several
incoming message codes can be received and decoded simultaneously.
Passive messaging parties, or an operation center acting mostly as a
receiver of calls made by active messaging parties, are normally based on a
multiple-line configuration where the number of lines per passive messaging
party
is based on the principle "THE MORE THE BETTER" . More lines means greater
flexibility in data transceiving procedures andlor shorter transceiving time
per
message. It should be noted that an active messaging party unit acting as a
receiver
can be based on the same architecture as that of a passive messaging part such
as
that shown in Fig. 6.
Caller identification is essential as a first stage of any message code
decoding. An active messaging party transmitting to a receiver must identify
itself
to the receiver, and an active messaging party polling a message from another
party, must identify itself, so that the other party can prepare a specific
message
for the current caller.
When communication is via an intelligent network the caller identity
code and the message arrival time are normally modulated on the carrier
frequency
of the communication signal transmitted through the telephone network, usually
between the first and second incoming rings, and are directly extracted by a
modem
or line interface connected to the receiver line called by the caller. Digital
networks such as ISDN, for example, transmit the caller identity code as part
of
the "hand shake" communication protocol between the caller and the recipient.
A
modem or line interface can be either a suitable modem or an electronic board
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tailored to extract the caller identity code and the message arrival time
through
demodulation.
When communication is via a conventional network based on more than
one potential caller, the caller identity code is coded as a prefix to the
message
code. The encoding of a caller identity code is based on a series of calls to
the
receiver incoming lines. A caller identity code can be encoded by any pre-
defined
basis.
The caller identity code is given by the order in which the incoming
lines are called. Assume, for example, that a receiver has ten incoming lines,
denoted receiver lines 1 to 10. Assume also that a caller with caller identity
code
1707 calls the receiver. In order for the caller to be identified, the caller
will call
receiver line-1, then disconnect, then receiver line-7, then disconnect, then
receiver
line-10, then disconnect, and finally receiver line-7.
A receiver having only 10 lines, as in the above given example, can
distinguish between up to 9 callers using one call for the caller identity
code, or
between up to 99, 999, 9999 callers using 2, 3, 4 calls for the caller
identity code,
respectively.
However, a receiver having 100 lines can distinguish between up to 99,
9999, 999999, 99999999 callers using 1 ,2 ,3 ,4 calls for the identity caller
code,
respectively.
In order to avoid interference between several callers trying to
transceive data to/from the same source within overlapping periods for
conventional
network operations, the identity caller code encoding procedure must be
preceded
by calling the message code registration line, in the case of sending a
message, or
the polling-registration line, in the case of polling a message. These two
lines will
be referred to collectively as registration lines, unless clarification is
required as to
which of the two lines is involved.
If the registration line is "free" , then the caller is authorized to proceed
with the caller identity code encoding procedure, and the receiver
registration line
will be switched to "busy" allowing the caller to continue after completion of
the
caller identity code encoding procedure with a messaging (or polling)
procedure
without another caller calling at the same time and interfering with the
messaging
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procedure. If, on the other hand, the registration line is "busy", then the
caller is
unauthorized to perform a messaging (or polling) procedure and the caller has
to
continue calling the registration line until it is "free" . Thus, a
registration line,
whether it be a message code registration line or a polling registration line,
enforces "queuing" on asynchronous callers.
Clearly, the use of a caller identity code is imperative for smooth
functioning of a messaging (or polling) procedure in practical scenarios
wherein
several calling parties exist. Therefore both caller identity code decoding
and
encoding procedures will be described in detail.
Attention is first drawn to Fig. 7 showing a flow chart for caller
identity code decoding by a receiver utilizing either intelligent or
conventional
network operations. If, 200, intelligent network operations are used then at
step
202 the received intelligent network data is decoded by demodulation of the
incoming call. For digital networks the received intelligent network data is
decoded according to a data protocol used by the digital network. At step 204
the
caller identity code and message arrival time are generated from the decoded
data.
The identity code decoding procedure for an intelligent network is now
complete
and step 206 message decoding or encoding can begin, as required.
If, 200, conventional network operations are used then at step 208 a
registration line (either a message-registration Iine or a polling-
registration line) is
called. Upon one of the registration lines receiving a call a "busy"l"free"
tone
generator switches the registration line to "busy", 212. It is pointed out
that if the
multi-line receiver uses the same group of data lines for both receiving a
message
and for the polling procedure, then upon starting either a messaging or
polling
procedure both the message registration and the polling registration lines
should be
switched to "busy" until completion of the particular procedure. However, if
the
receiver uses two separate groups of data Iines, one for a messaging procedure
and
one for a polling procedure, then the queues for the two procedures are non-
overlapping and separate, and only the registration line related to the
particular
34 procedure in question need by called and set to "busy" .
At step 214 the "TIME-OUT" procedure is turned on. Step 216 is a declaration
that a caller identity code comprising LI elements is to be decoded element by
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element. At step 218 the code element index i is set to zero. Steps 220 to 230
define a loop in which the identity code elements are received. At step 220
the
code element index i is increased by I and at step 222 a check for "TIME-OUT"
is made. If "TIME-OUT'" is reached then at step 224 the identity code decoding
procedure is terminated and the relevant registration lines (message code
andlor
polling) are set to ' free" . If "TIME-OUT" is not reached then at step 226
the pith
receiver line rings. If time measurement is used then the period of ringing
TRi
until disconnection is noted. At step 228 the ith element of the caller
identity code
is decoded from a data base. If time measurement is used then the ith element
of
the caller identity code is given by the combination ni and TRi. If time
measure-
ment is not used then the ith element of the caller identity code is given by
ni. At
step 230 a check is made to see if the last element (i = LI) of the caller
identity
code has been reached. If the last element has not been reached then control
is
transferred to step 220 and the next receiver Iine is called. If, on the other
hand,
the last element has been reached, then at step 232 the complete caller
identity code
is ready and can be decoded. The identity code decoding procedure for a
conventional network is now complete and step 206 message decoding or encoding
can begin, as required.
Attention is now drawn to Fig. 8 showing a flow chart for caller
identity code encoding by a caller utilizing either intelligent or
conventional
network operations. If, at 300, intelligent network operations are used then
caller
identity code encoding is intrinsic and no further action is required. In this
case
the caller identity code is modulated on the carrier frequency of the
communication
signal transmitted through the telephone network. For digital networks tile
transmitted intelligent network data is encoded according to a data protocol
used by
the digital network. Control is then transferred out of the caller identity
code
encoding process at step 302 to another process which could be message code
encoding or decoding.
If, at 300, conventional network operations are used then from step 304
transfer is controlled either to polling registration, steps 306 to 310, or to
message
code registration, steps 312 to 316. Although this is not an integral part of
identity
code encoding, it is clear that when calling a receiver the caller is calling
for a
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reason, and therefor as far as the receiver logic is concerned, reception of a
caller
identity code should be preceded by appropriate registration so that the
receiver
knows how to continue after receiving the caller's identity code. After
successful
registration, caller waits T secs., or K rings, and disconnects. Successful
registration is achieved if the registration lines are "free". After the
caller has
successfully registered with the receiver at step 318, the "TIME-OUT"
procedure
is turned on at step 320.
At step 322 the caller prepares the identity code to be encoded. This
is done by defining a series of receiver Iines to be called (LI, say) and, if
time
measurement is used, assigning to each line to be called a ringing period TR
in
accordance with a coding conversion table. It is emphasized that measurement
of
the ringing period is optional and when used adds an additional degree of
freedom
in building the message code. Caller identity codes are preferably, but not
necessarily, built with the first code - element being the most significant
and the
last code - element being the least significant. This approach ensures that if
the end
of the caller identity code is not communicated for some reason or other, then
the
receiver can at least know which caller called from within a group of callers
all
having the same code beginning.
At step 324 the code element index i is set to zero. Steps 326 to 340
define a loop in which the caller identity code elements are encoded. At step
326
the code element index i is increased by 1 and at step 328 a check for "TIME-
OUT"
is made. If "TIME-OUT" is reached then at step 330 the caller identity code
encoding procedure is terminated and caller disconnects and begins the
encoding
procedure from the beginning (step 304). If "TIME-OUT" is not reached then at
step 332 the nith receiver line is called. If the nith receiver line is "busy"
then at
step 336 the caller disconnects and waits TB secs. before again calling the
pith
receiver line. If the nith receiver line is "free" then at step 338 the caller
waits K
rings, or TRi secs before disconnecting. It should be noted that if time
measure-
ment is not used then on calling each receiver line, the caller would wait an
identical time period (say T secs.) for each receiver Iine called and reached.
At
step 340 a check is made to see if the last element (i = LI) of the caller
identity
code has been encoded. If the last element has not been encoded then control
is
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transferred to step 326 and the next receiver line is called in accordance
with the
caller identity code. If, on the other hand, the last element has been
encoded, then
at step 342 the complete caller identity code has been encoded. The caller
identity
code encoding procedure for a conventional network is now complete and at step
342 message encoding or decoding can begin, as required.
Once a caller identity code has been received and confirmed a message
code sent by a caller can be received. It is important that message codes have
well
defined structures. In the following, basic concepts concerning the structure
of
message codes will be described.
Message codes are preferably, but not necessarily, built with the first
code - element being the most significant and the last code - element being
the least
significant. This approach assures if the end of the message is lost then at
least the
important part of the message has been received. In accordance with this
approach
if related data is to be added to the basic message, it should suffix the
message
code.
A message code is related to a message through a data-base that relates
specific telephone lines (i.e., specific line indices) to numbers, words,
messages or
combinations thereof. A message code can have any number of elements, defined
in the data-base by the first (most-significant) element.
Preferably, a "code - structure" comprising "groups" and "sub-groups"
should be constructed enabling each successive sub-group of the code, starting
with
the first element, to have a "decodable" and usable meaning.
Message code receiving and transmitting by connection time free data
messaging will be illustrated in the following using examples based on
commercial
applications. In accordance with the invention, in all the examples, calls are
placed
but not answered. That is, use of the word "call" refers to a "connection-time
free
call". Furthermore, in the following examples a slash "I" will be used to
denote
options. For example A/B/C, denotes either A, or B or C.
The first example is for connection time free receiving/transmitting of
message codes from/to fullylsemi automated point-of service (for example, a
vending machine). Four different cases will be considered. The following
assumptions are made:
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(a) an automated point of service smart controller can sense and distinguish
between NE events which may indicate either a technical failure in one of its
sub-systems or a need to refill the stock kept on-site.
(b) an operation center, controlling NA (number) points of service (or, points
of sale), utilizes NO data lines, preferably of intelligent network
operations, for
receivingltransmitting data, excluding message registration lines, acknowledge
registration lines, answer-lines and polling-registration line .
(c) Three typical messages will be considered:
(i) Power failure.
(ii) Vending machine - motor of the Ith product column (out of NC,
e.g. I6) is stuck.
(iii) The automated point of service should be refilled with product
combination and quantities j (out of NQ, e.g., 128).
Case-I : The operation center utilizes NO=25 data lines to report NE
events (NE < 26}, some of which may have related data.
In this case (i.e., for intelligent network operations) message (i) will
require a single call to one of the 25 data lines. However, message (ii} will
require
two calls, the first specifying the failure and the second specifying the
vending
machine - motor number). Message (iii} will require three calls, the first
specifying a refill demand, and the next two specifying the refill combination
and
quantities j, using the 25-basis coding (i.e., 25 lines or an integer number
thereof),
where the first out the two element code has a partial meaning.
Thus, it is clearly understood that although message codes for messages
(i) and (ii) are based on a code having more than a single element (i.e., more
than
a single call) they do have a well defined meaning even after the messaging is
interrupted after the first element was received.
Case-2 : The operation center utilizes NO=200 lines to report NE (NE
< 26) major events, some of which have k combinations of related data, but the
summation of the total number of possible combinations NP justifies NP < 200.
In this case, all three messages (i), (ii) and (iii} will require only a
single call, sent from the automated point of sale to the operation center.
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Case-3 : The operation center utilizing 25/200 lines (as an intelligent
network active messaging party) needs to switch the automated point of sale
parameter configuration i to configuration j.
In this case, when NO=25, a single call is needed to switch the
parameter configuration if less than 25 configuration options are available.
However, 2 calls will be needed if more than 25 configuration options are
available
When NO=200, a single call is needed for precise switching of the parameter
option even when the total number of configurations options is 200.
Case-4 : The operation center of the former example is a passive
messaging party. Retrieving the parameter option needed for precise operation
of
the automated point of sale through polling will require 4 or 5 or 6 calls
from the
active messaging party to the passive messaging party, for 7 or 15 or 31
configuration options, respectively.
The second example is for connection time free receiving/transmitting
of message codes from/to a mobile monitored service unit, such as a mobile
service
fleet unit. Three different cases will be considered. In this example messages
received by the mobile monitored service unit contain two forms of
instructions.
The first is for directing the service unit to a specified location (out of a
data base
of NA locations, i.e., points of service) and the other is for performing a
specified
task (out of a list of NT tasks).
Each task has NR reporting mile-stones, which may be accompanied by
a location measurement using a global positioning system (the location being
determined to within an accuracy of AC) for determining the location of the
service
unit within a pre-defined marked area AR. Reporting the service unit location
together with its status, at a given communication frequency is a legitimate
message
code in this application.
Case-1 : An operation center controls NA=200/20,000 points of service
which may require one of NT =10 different types of tasks. The operation center
utilizes NO=25/200 data lines, and has to send a work order to a mobile
service
unit, specifying the point of service location, the tasks and the order in
which the
tasks are performed within a daily route based on 20 different service
locations.
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If NO=25 and NA=200/20,000 the operation center will have to place
3/4 calls, respectively, to transmit the message code. The first 2/3 calls
will be
used together to specify the service location and task, utilizing a 25-basis
code, and
the last call will define the order of the task along the daily route. If
NO=200,
instead of 25, only 2/3 calls will be required, respectively, to transmit the
message
code, where 112 calls, respectively, will be used to specify the service
location and
task, and the last call will define the order of the task along the daily
route.
Case-2 : A mobile service unit (one out of NU=150), communicating
with the operation center of Case-l, needs to report a mile-stone j (out of
NR=5)
of task i (one out of 20 locations) without/with location details having an
accuracy
of AC =1.5 km or 0.15 km, if relevant, within an area of 150* 150 sq km (for
intelligent network operations).
If NO =25 and AC = nulll l .5 km/0.15 km, (null means that no location
is required) the mobile service unit will require 1/4/6 calls, respectively,
for each
message code. If, instead of NO=25, an NO=200 line operation center is
utilized, then the mobile service unit will require only 1I3I4 calls,
respectively.
The first call, or first message code element, in both cases is devoted
to NT and NR, where the first mile-stone is reported by calling one of NT (20
in
this case) specific lines, while the remaining NR-1 mile-stones which follow
the
first, utilize another (NR-1) lines, which in this case is 4. Any following
calls, are
used for reporting the mobile service unit's location. Each call indicates a
geographical region. Geographical regions can be marked out using series of
squares, termed primary squares. These squares can then be divided into
smaller
squares, termed secondary squares, and in turn each secondary square can be
divided into still smaller squares. Each line called corresponds to a given
square.
A first call would indicate that the mobile service unit is located
somewhere within the primary square corresponding to the line called. If the
resolution of a primary square suffices then no further calls are required. If
the
accuracy of a secondary square is required then a second call is placed
indicating
that the mobile service unit is located somewhere within the secondary square
corresponding to the line called. The procedure can be continued, depending on
the accuracy required.
._ . .. _ y. . i , ?.
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Case-3 : This is the same as Case-2 , but the system utilizes conven-
tional network operation. In this case the message code has to be preceded by
a
call, or calls, giving the caller identity code. Hence, 1/2 calls have to be
added to
the number of calls given in Case-2 for NO=25/200 lines, respectively.
The third example is for connection time free receivingltransmitting of
message codes fromlto a person who wishes to call andlor pay for a service or
a
product supplied by a server. The latter is equipped with a connection time
free
transceiver and the relevant message decoding and encoding software. This
example
is applicable e.g. for a motorist wishing to "check in"/"out" tolof "on" or
"off-
street" parking, or receive a service, such as car wash, or pay for gas
products in
a gas station, or any telephone user who wishes to purchase a well defined
product
or service from either a vending machine or a delivery service. Other
applications
are, of course, applicable, all as required and appropriate. The entire group
of the
following examples will be referred to as electronic transactions, and the
cost of the
transaction will be part of the messaging process. In other words this example
concerns cost-related messages. Of course, the cost-related messages that are
embraced by the invention are not bound to these particular examples. Two
different cases will be considered. The following assumptions are made:
(a) An automated point of service or vending smart controller can sense and
distinguish between NE events which may indicate either a request of
identified purchaser for a well defined productslservices or the event may
indicate only a request of identified purchaser to purchase while the
selection
of the product or service is conducted by signalling the machine the exact
selection, e.g. pressing a marked key.
(b) An operation center, controlling NA (number) points of service (or, points
of sale), utilizes NO data lines, preferably of intelligent network
operations,
for receiving and transmitting data, excluding acknowledge lines.
(c) A manned user of the system can call for a servicela product utilizing one
of
the following alternative modes:
- if the message is a single element code and no time dependence is
related to the decoding - then the user of system does not necessarily
use a dedicated terminal but rather utilize a telephone (cellular or wire
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line) owned by him/her and follow the instruction "to purchase a
service/product (name) from this vender call number <figref></figref>## and
disconnect"
- if the message is a mufti element code (or time dependent code) a
dedicated terminal connected to the wire line or cellular device should
be used, preferably instructing the user, e.g. using menus, how to
select the order.
(d) Three typical messages will be considered:
(i) Request to purchase a single item (out of NP services or products,
predefined by the supplier) - which means that the costs of the
transaction is well defined by the message code,
(ii) Request to purchase an unknown quantity of a well defined product
(e.g. "fill my tank", or "I am starting a parking session for unknown
period of time"), which means that the costs of the transaction will be
defined upon the completion of the purchase.
(iii) Request to purchase the following "shopping list" (out of a predefined
detailed menu), which means that the costs of the transactions can be
defined before delivery, but should be accumulated by analyzing the list
contents .
Case -1 : The operation center utilizes NO > > NP data lines to control
the transactions related to NP different products or services. In this case
message
(i) will require a single call to one of the data lines . However, message
(ii) will
require either two calls, one to start the purchase or service procedure and
another
one to end it. Alternatively in this case instead of calling to end the sale,
the user
can, sometime, halt it manually allowing the smart controller "on site" to
sense the
stop signal. (The "end of process" message may be more relevant to electronic
transactions such as parking, while the "stop" key may be more relevant to
electronic transactions such as gas refueling). Message (iii) may require any
number
of calls starting from one when NP is small (=2-3). As the series of calls
become
very long, the efficiency of the procedure decreases significantly.
In all three message types the last element code of the message has a
double meaning - a) supply the products/services to the caller and - b)
receive the
,,,
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price for the transaction, as agreed in advance for messages (i) and (iii) and
upon
completion of the transaction for message (ii). Such price can be charged
through
billing files defining by each transaction, and supplied for collection to the
public
network operator providing the communication services to the identified caller
or
to billing entities as agreed between the parties (for example, credit card
companies) .
Case - 2 : The receiving party utilizes NO=1 data lines to control
NP > 1. In this case message (i) may require more than a single call to the
data
line, unless the caller after placing the message will indicate by another
means, i.e.,
pressing a key on a vending machine, the i.d. of the product or service
selected.
As a result the most significant portion of the message will define the
request to
make an electronic transaction paid by the caller, and the least significant
part,
defined by the pressed key will identify the requested product or service and
their
value. Message (ii}, utilizing the same mechanism, will require either two
calls,
one to start the purchase or service procedure and another one to end it.
Alterna-
tively in this case instead of calling to end the sale, the user can,
sometime, halt
it manually allowing the smart controller "on site" to sense the stop signal.
(The
"end of process" message may be more relevant to electronic transactions such
as
parking, while the "stop" key may be more relevant to electronic transactions
such
as gas refueling). Message (iii) in this case cannot be communicated
efficiently.
Having described the basic concepts concerning the structure of message
codes, messaging procedures for connection time free receivingltransmitting of
message codes will be described.
Three basic messaging procedures will be described: (i) a single-line
caller calling a mufti-line recipient, (ii) a mufti-line caller calling a
single-line
recipient and, (iii) a single-line caller polling a mufti-line recipient. For
each
procedure specific examples will be given for both the caller logic and the
receiver
logic along with flow charts illustrating general messaging procedures for
each of
these cases.
It should be noted that mufti-line to single-line, single-line to mufti-line
and single-line to single-line messaging procedures are special cases of mufti-
line
to mufti-line messaging procedures. Since a service point should be as
inexpensive
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as possible, whereas an operation center should be effcient, service points
are
generally single-line and operation centers are generally mufti-line, and
therefore
the three basic messaging procedures to be described are important cases.
Consideration will first be given to a single Line active messaging party
transmitting a message to a multi-line receiver.
For intelligent network operations each call is independently identified
and therefore the messaging procedure can support many callers (active
messaging
parties) initiating data transmittals during overlapping transmission periods.
A
message code sent by an active messaging party is a code, built as a series of
receiver incoming line numbers preferably ordered from the "most" to the
"least"
significant element of the code, where each "element" of the code corresponds
to
the line index, i, of the receiver line called.
Message code encoding and decoding procedures are based on the
following assumptions:
(al) The communicating parties have at their disposal a pre-defined data base
of MM messages and associated message codes.
(a2) The receiving party utilizes N lines for receiving message codes, each
line being characterized by a line index i.
(a3) The relations between MM and N together with optimal coding consider
ations requires a message code to be based on MI elements, where the first
element
is, preferably, the "most" significant element and the MIth is the "least"
significant
element. For example, if MM = 9 or 99 and N= 10, then MI = 1 or 2,
respectively. Similarly, if MM = 99 or 9999 and N= 100, then MI = 1 or 2,
respectively.
(a4) Each caller has a pre-defined time (TIME-OUT) to transmit its MI
element message code from the moment the caller reaches the called line
representing the "most" significant element of the message code and fords the
called
line in a "free" state.
(a5) The messaging procedure can be finalized by a request for an acknowl-
edgment from the receiver, verifying that a correct message code has been
received. Such acknowledgment is accomplished in one of two ways depending on
the nature of the receiver.
t , ,
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If the receiver is a passive messaging party, then messaging procedure
has to be preceded by caller registration, which is performed by the caller
calling
the passive messaging party's acknowledge registration line informing the
passive
message party that the caller is interested in receiving an acknowledgement
for its
message. If the acknowledge registration line is "busy" then the caller should
continue calling until it is "free" . After registration an acknowledge, not
acknowledge or partial acknowledge message code will be waiting for the caller
through the "busy"I "free" states of the passive messaging party's answer
line.
If, however, the receiver is an active messaging party it can send a
relevant message code to the caller regarding the messaging procedure success.
(a6) Intelligent structuring of the message code data-base together with the
fact that the encoding procedure is based on serial data transmittals from
"most"
to "least" significant element , enable retrieving partial messages even when
the
procedure is discontinued for any reason before completion. Examples
demonstrat-
ing the importance of partial messages to the robustness of the application
will be
given later. A partial message can be extracted from a code where each element
marks a sub-group of the former element.
For conventional network operations the message sent by an active
messaging party must be preceded the identity code serial encoding procedure
described above. Therefore, only one active messaging party can communicate
with a given passive messaging party at a time.
During the entire procedure, starting from caller identification, through
messaging and till final receipt of an acknowledge, not acknowledge or partial
acknowledge message code, or termination of the procedure due to "time-out",
the
message code registration line must be in the "busy" state, denoting that the
passive
messaging party is occupied and cannot receive new messages from a different
caller. On completion of the procedure due to "time-out" termination or due to
completion of the acknowledge procedure the message registration line is
switched
to the "free" state and the receiver is ready for receiving a new message
code.
Even when the receiver is an active messaging party the acknowledge line
should
be interrogated by the caller so that the identity code formerly established
will not
be lost. This is in complete contrast to the case of intelligent network
operation,
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where the caller identity code is modulated on the carrier frequency of the
communication signal.
Due to the structure of conventional network operation, which can not
tolerate several callers trying to transceive data to/from the same receiver
within
overlapping periods, it is sometimes more efficient to sub-divide the NO
receiver
lines to n sub-groups, each sub-group operating as an independent receiver,
and
consequently, n message codes can be transceived in parallel. For example, the
efficiency of a 100-line conventional network receiver, after sub-division of
its lines
to 10 independent groups, is about a factor of five to six times higher as
compared
to a single 100-line system. Namely, it can receive five times more calls per
time
unit.
The procedure for a single-line active messaging party transmitting a
message to a multi-line receiver is summarized in Figs. 9 and 10, which will
now
be described. The following notation will be used in these two figures:
MM denotes the total number of message codes used,
MI denotes the number of elements in a message code.
N denotes the total number of receiver indexed lines,
i, j indices of message code elements,
ni (nj) index of the ith (jth) receiver indexed line,
OM denotes the number of different element code values = N*TV, where
TV denotes the number of possible time values (rounded off) m a a s a r a d
from a clock trigger till disconnection.
A comparison of time-dependent messaging and time-independent
messaging and the influence of time measurement on the number of message codes
obtainable will now be illustrated. Consider a single line active messaging
party
that transmits a message to, or receives a message from, a 10-line multiple-
line
communicating party, and let TV=4. Then each call represents 1 out of 40
message code element values, instead of 10 values when the coding procedure
does
not use time-dependent message code element values (i.e., the coding procedure
ignores the time duration from first "ring" to disconnection).
Correspondingly, a
time dependent message code, based on 2 or 3 code elements, will generate an
arsenal of 1600 or 64000 different message codes as compared to only 100 or
1000
r i , t.
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different message codes, respectively, when the coding procedure does not use
time-dependent message code element values.
Attention is first drawn to Fig. 9 showing the principle steps of the
receiver logic of a mufti-line receiver for receiving a message code from a
single
line active messaging party. At step 400 a message code is received by the
multi
line receiver from a single-line messaging party. MM is the total number of
message codes used, and OM is the number of different element code values. If,
at 402, MM < OM (i.e., a single code element defines the message) then control
is transferred to step 448. Step 450 distinguishes between two cases. If the
total
IO number of message codes used (M11~ is less than the number of receiver
indexed
lines (N) then, in addition to the line index ni of the line called,
measurement of
the ringing period TRi, for line ni, is required in order to define the
message code
(steps 456 and 458). If on the other hand, MM > N then the line index ni of
the
line called suffices to define the message code (step 452). At step 454 the
caller
identity code, the message code and message arrival time are defined. Control
is
then transferred to step 430 which was described above.
If, at 402, MM > OM (a number of calls is required in order to
communicate a message call) then at step 404 the received message code is
built
element-by-element from the first element to the MIth element. Preferably, but
not
necessarily, the first element is the most significant element of the message
code
and the MIth element is the least significant element.
At step 406 a "time-out" procedure is initialized and at step 410 the
message code element index j is initially set to zero. The incoming message
code
is built in the loop defined by the steps 410 through 418, where the jth
element of
the message code is given by nj and TRj. It should be noted that if time
measurement is not used then the jth element of the message code is given by
nj
only. The loop ends at step 418 as soon as all the message code elements have
been received, assuming that "time-out" was not registered during the process.
It
is assumed that the receiver knows how many code elements to expect. This can
be achieved in a number of ways. For example, it can be agreed upon in advance
that the first element received also indicates the total number of elements
that the
receiver can expect to receive. In accordance with this approach the total
number
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of elements that the receiver can expect to receive is given by MI(nl), where
n1
is index of the first receiver line called.
At step 420 the message code is decoded by comparing the message
code elements received with a conversion table that associates message code
elements with messages or parts thereof and the caller is identified with the
message by noting the callers identity code and the message arrival time.
If at step 412 "time-out" terminated the procedure before all the code
elements were received, then there arise two possibilities regarding the
number of
code elements received. These two possibilities are checked at step 422. If at
least
one code element was received (i.e., j > 1), then at steps 424 and 426 a
partial
message is determined from the received message code elements, the caller is
identified with the partial message by noting the callers identity code and
the
message arrival time and a partial acknowledge message code is prepared. If on
the other hand no message code element was received (i.e., j < 1), then at
step
428 a not acknowledge message code is prepared.
If the multi-line receiver is an active messaging party then at step 430
control is transferred to step 431 and the multi-line receiver sends an
appropriate
acknowledge message code (i.e., acknowledge, not acknowledge or partial
acknowledge) to the single-line caller. If on the other hand, the mufti-Iine
receiver
is not an active messaging party, then the single-line caller (who is an
active
messaging party) has to obtain the state of the message received by the mufti-
line
receiver by calling the mufti-receiver's acknowledge registration and answer
lines
as described in steps 432 through 440. At step 442 a decision is made as to
whether the single-line active messaging party is interested in polling a
message
from the mufti-line receiver. if the polling registration line is called
within TP
seconds then it is understood that polling is required 446. If on the other
hand the
polling registration line was not called within TP seconds then polling is not
required and the message registration line, in the case of conventional
network
operations only, is switched to ' ft-ee" and the receiver is ready for the
next
message.
Attention is now drawn to Fig. 10 showing the principle steps of a
single-line active messaging party logic for transmitting a message code to a
multi-
_.. . f,..........
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line receiver. At step 500 the active messaging party's identity code (IDC) is
encoded (see Fig. 8) and a code messaging procedure is triggered. If, at 502,
MI
< OM, a message can be communicated by calling a single receiver line (i.e., a
single code element defines the message). In this case, at step 554, the mufti-
line
receiver's line defining the message, say the nith line is called. If the nith
line is
"bu,ry" then at step 556 control is transferred to step 558, where the caller
disconnects and waits TB secs. before again calling the mufti-line receiver's
pith
line. If the nith line is "free" then at step 560 the caller waits k rings or
TRi secs.
before disconnecting. Again, if time measurement is not used then the single-
line
active messaging party waits for the same time period, say T secs., before
disconnecting, independent of which receiver line is called. At step 562 the
caller
proceeds to the acknowledgement procedure, starting at step 530.
If, at 502, MI > OM, a message can only be communicated by
calling a number of receiver lines (i.e., a more that one code element defines
the
message). At step 504 the receiver lines to be called, defining the code
elements
of the required message code are specified. Preferably, but not necessarily,
the
first element is the most significant element of the message code and the last
element is the least significant element.
At step 506 the "time-out" procedure is initialized and at step 508 the
message code element index j is initially set to zero. At step 510 the value
of the
index j is increased by 1. At step 512 the receiver line corresponding to the
jth
code element of the message code is dialed. If, at step 514, the dialed line
is
"busy" then control is transferred to step 516 and the active messaging party
disconnects for TB secs. before re-dialing. If on the other hand the dialed
line is
not "busy" then control is transferred to step 518 and the active messaging
party
waits either for TR,j secs., or for kj rings before disconnecting. It should
be noted
that if time measurement is not used then the active messaging party waits for
the
same time period, say T secs., for each line called before disconnecting.
At step 520 a check is made to see if all the receiver lines defining the
message code were successfully dialed, that is if j = MI. If so then the full
message code was sent to the receiver, step 529, and the process continues
from
step 530 with message acknowledgement procedures. If the mufti-line receiver
is
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an active messaging party then at step 530 control is transferred to step 531
and the
single-line caller waits for appropriate message code acknowledgement (i.e.,
acknowledge, not acknowledge or partial acknowledge) from the mufti-line
receiver. If on the other hand, the mufti-line receiver is not an active
messaging
party, then the single-line active messaging party caller has to obtain
acknowledge-
ment of the state of the message received by the mufti-line receiver by
calling the
mufti-receiver's acknowledge registration and answer lines as described in
steps 532
through 550.
If at step 520 j ~ MI and "TIME-OUT" has not been reached, 522,
then the next line is called (steps 510 to 520 are repeated). If at 522 "TIME-
OUT"
has been reached, then if at least one line is called, 524, a partial
acknowledge
message code is prepared, 526. If, on the other hand, no lines were called
then the
procedure is aborted, 528, and if desired should be restarted.
Consideration will now be given to a mufti-line active messaging party
transmitting a message to a single or mufti-line receiver, for intelligent
network
operations only.
Unlike the former case, where the encoding utilizes the receiver
multiple line structure, in this case the encoding is based on the fact that
each
active messaging party has several calling lines from which a message code can
be
built. As this case is limited to intelligent network operation, the caller
identity
code is extracted directly from the call signal. However, since each caller
employs
many lines, the decoding link between the call and the message code is a
multiple
step procedure, summarized below.
(a) extract identity code and message arrival time from the call signal;
(b) identify the caller to which the calling line belongs;
(c) identify the value of the specific identity code among the identified
caller
lines;
(d) assign an index i to the message code element based on message arrival
time and the formerly received (i-1) element, if there was a formerly received
element.
r i r
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(e) decode the message if all message code elements are available or,
partially
decode the message code if "time-out" terminated the procedure before its
comple-
tlon.
Acknowledgement, if needed in this case, is achieved in one of the
following ways:
If the receiver is an active messaging party it will send an acknowledge,
not acknowledge or partial acknowledge message code to the caller.
If the receiver is a passive messaging party having acknowledge
registration and answer lines, then the caller will interrogate the receiver
for an
acknowledge message code.
If the receiver is a passive messaging party not having acknowledge
registration and answer lines but the caller is the only messaging source
calling the
receiver at that time, then the receiver will switch its single line to "busy"
for T
seconds if acknowledge or partial acknowledge are the relevant responses or
leave
it "free" if not acknowledge is the relevant response, and the caller will
interrogate
the receiver immediately upon completion of the messaging procedure for that
signal.
A flow chart for a multi-line active messaging party transmitting a
message to a single-line receiver is given in Figs. 11 and 12, which will now
be
described. The following notation will be used in these two figures:
TR denotes a ringing period,
i, j indices of message code elements,
TRj denotes a ringing period for the jth message code element,
IDC defined in general as a code specifying in sufficient details the
identifica-
tion of a message source, and with reference to Fig. 11 this means the
identity of
the caller and the line called from by that caller.
Attention is first drawn to Fig. 11 showing the principle steps of the
receiver logic of a single-line receiver for receiving a message code from a
multi-
line active messaging party. At step 600 a call is received from a mufti-line
active
messaging party. The message code to be received is known to be based on KI
code elements decoded from caller identity code {IDC) values. At step 602 a
call
is received and the caller identity and the caller's calling line are
identified and the
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ringing period TR is measured. Again it is emphasized that measurement of the
ringing period is optional and when used adds an additional degree of freedom
in
building the message code.
When the first call of a given caller is received then the decoding
session will not be "ON" and at step 604 control is transferred to step 606
and the
"time-out" procedure is initialized for the current caller, whereby the
decoding
session for the current caller is declared "ON". At step 608 the first code
element
of the message code is taken to be a number related to the caller identity and
the
line called from by that caller, and the index i is set equal to 1. At step
610 a
check is made to see if the message code to be received is based on I code
element
(KI = 1). If the message code to be received is based on 1 code element then
at
step 612 the message code is ready for precise decoding generating an identif
ed
message and a message arrival time.
If the receiver is an active messaging party, then at step 614 control is
transferred to step 616 and the receiver will send an appropriate
acknowledgement
message code to the caller which will be one of, acknowledge, not acknowledge
or
partial acknowledge message codes. Control is then transferred to step 618
where
the receiver waits for the next call. If, however, the receiver is not an
active
messaging party then at step 614 control is transferred to step 620 and the
receiver
waits for an acknowledge message code interrogation by the caller. The
receiver,
of course, prepares an appropriate acknowledge message code for the caller on
its
registration lines. Clearly then, if the receiver is not an active messaging
party,
and the caller has to receive an acknowledge message code, then the receiver
cannot be a single line receiver. Following step 620 control is transferred to
step
618 and at step 622 "TIME-OUT" is checked for the current decoding sessions.
If
"TINIE-OUT' has not been reached then control is returned to step 600.
If at step 622 "TIME-OUT"' is reached then at step 624 a check is made
to see if, for the current caller, message code elements have been received or
not.
If no message code elements have been received for the current caller then at
step
626 the message receiving procedure is aborted for that caller and control is
transferred to step 614 for relaying a not-acknowledge message code to the
caller.
If some, but not all, message codes have been received from the current caller
then
t i r
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the caller's message code can be partially decode, 628, after which control is
transferred to step 614 for relaying a partial-acknowledge message code to the
caller. Following this control is transferred to step 618 and then on to step
622.
If at step 604 a decoding session is "ON" for the current caller then
control is transferred to step 630 and the index i of the former decoded
element of
the current caller is checked and then at step 632 j is defined as 1+i. At
step 634
the jth code element is related through a data-base code conversion table to
the
caller identity and the line called from by that caller.
At step 636 a check is made if all the code elements have been
received. If all the code elements have been received then at step 612 the
received
message code is ready for decoding after which acknowledgement through steps
614
to 620 is performed, as described above.
Attention is now drawn to Fig. 12 showing the principle steps of a
multi-line active messaging party logic for transmitting a message code to a
single-
line receiver. At step 700 a multi-line active messaging party generates a
message
code transmission utilizing intelligent network operations. At step 702 a
message
code using KI elements is encoded. Each code element is represented by one of
the caller's line numbers accompanied by the call ringing period, TR.
Preferably,
but not necessarily the message code is built with the first code element
being the
most significant message element, and the last code element (the KIth) being
the
least significant message element.
At step 704 the "time-out" procedure is initiated. At step 706 the index
i is set to zero. At step 708 the value of the index i is increased by 1. At
step 710
check it made to see if "time-out" has been reached. If "time-out" has not
been
reached then at step 712 then the mufti-line active messaging party calls the
receiver from the line assigned to the ith code element. At step 714 the state
of the
receiver line is checked. If it is "busy" then at step 722 the caller
disconnects and
waits for TB secs. before returning to step 712. If on the other hand the
receiver
line is not "busy" then the caller waits TRi secs. before disconnecting, 716.
At
step 718 the code element index is checked. If the KIth element has been sent,
then the complete message code has been sent, 720, and the process continues
with
the acknowledgelpolling procedures, steps 730, 732 and 734. If at step 718 the
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KIth element has not yet been sent then control is transferred to step 708 and
the
process continues.
If at step 710 "time-out" is reached then the number of code elements
transmitted is checked at step 724. If no code elements have been transmitted
then
at step 724 the procedure is aborted, 726, and will have to be restarted at
step 702.
If, however, at least one element has been transmitted then the message has
been
partially sent, 728, and at step 729 the partially sent message is checked to
see if
it is sufficient or not. If the partial message sent is considered not
sufficient then
the procedure is aborted, 726. If the partial message sent is considered
sufficient
then the process continues with the acknowledge/polling procedures, steps 730,
732
and 734.
Figs. 9 to 12 also cover the special case of a single-line caller calling
a single-line recipient, with Figs. 10 and 12 covering the special case of a
single-
line active messaging party transmitting a message to a single-line receiver
and
Figs. 9 and 11 covering the special case of a single-line recipient receiving
a
message from a single-line active messaging party. These special cases are for
intelligent network operation only.
Unlike the more general cases of messaging between mufti-line and
single-line communicating parties, where the encoding and decoding are based
on
the calling or called line numbers together with the order of the unanswered
calls,
in this special case of messaging between single-line communicating parties
the
message code element is based on a period of time elapsed from a clock trigger
of
the receiver until disconnection of the "ringing" process. As this special
case is
limited to intelligent network operation, or to communication between two and
only
two well defined parties, the caller identity code is directly extracted from
the call.
However, since each message code can be based on many elements, the decoding
link between the call and the message code is a mufti-step procedure,
summarized
below:
(a) extract caller identity code and message time of arrival from the call;
(b) measure the time from first "ring" till the end of the ringing process;
(c) divide the measured time by a decoding parameter TD and extract from
the result the element message code value by rounding off the result of the
division
r. . ~ . r
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to the nearest message code element value (for example, suppose that the time
from
a clock trigger till last ring is 7.5 sec and that TD=4 sec. Assuming that the
available message code elements are 1,2,4,6,8, then the message code element
value extracted in this case is 2.);
(d) assign an index i to the message code element, based on message arrival
time and the previously received message code element (i.e., the (i-I) th
element),
if relevant;
(e) decode the message, if all message code elements are available, knowing
the number of elements building the message code, or partially decode the
message
code if "time-out" interrupted the procedure; and
(f) if the receiver is a passive messaging party - generate an acknowledge
code (as a "busy" signal ) for a predefined period of time after receiving the
cast
code element, or a not acknowledge code (as a "free" signal ) whenever
relevant;
or
I5 (g) if the receiver is an active messaging party - call the sender for a
connection time free transmittal of an acknowledge message code or a not
acknowledge message code by generating a "busy" signal or a ' free" signal as
in
step (f).
In accordance with the decoding procedure described above, the
encoding of the connection free time message by the sender is conducted as
follows
(i) select the message code from the data-base per the event to be reported,
(where each code element is has two parameters, the first a number to be
called,
and the second the time from a clock trigger till disconnection;
(ii) call the receiver number of the first code element (the most significant
element) and wait in a "ringing" mode for a period of time as defined by the
specific code element;
(iii) disconnect the call;
(iv) repeat steps (ii} and (iii) serially for all the remaining code elements;
and
(v) upon completion of the transfer of the coded message, proceed to
acknowledgment as specified in steps (f) or (g).
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Consideration will now be given to a single line active messaging party
interrogating a multi-line passive messaging party's message through polling.
The
mufti-line passive messaging party is capable of responding to many active
messaging parties, but only one at a time.
For intelligent network operations the first stage of data polling from
a passive messaging party is calling the passive messaging party's polling
registration line, which serves the purpose of identifying the caller to the
passive
messaging party which accordingly prepares a message code relevant to the
specific
caller. At the same time access to the passive messaging party is blocked to
other
con-current callers for data polling by switching the polling line to "busy" .
If there
is a message waiting for the current caller, then the answer line is switched
to
"busy", thereby indicating to the interrogating caller that a message is
waiting. If
no message is waiting then the procedure will be terminated for both the
active
messaging party and the passive messaging party.
The message encoding is generated as a binary code utilizing "busy" and
"free" states of the incoming N lines of the passive messaging party. In cases
where N is too small to allow encoding of a full binary message code, then a
number of successive cycles are utilized where the more significant bits are
encoded
in the first cycle (the first line called is the most significant bit) and the
least
significant bits are encoded at the last cycle (the last line called is the
least
significant bit). In such cases the active messaging party will signal to the
passive
messaging party that a cycle has been read in full by calling the acknowledge
registration line, and the passive messaging party will, in response, encode
the next
cycle of N lines. When the procedure is completed or terminated due to "time-
out", all the receiver lines are switched to "free" to allow for the next
messaging
procedure to start.
The only difference between intelligent network operation and
conventional network operation is that the conventional network procedure must
start with caller identification encoding by the active messaging party before
the
receiver is able to encode the message code. Whereas for intelligent network
operation the caller identification is modulated on the carrier frequency of
the
communication signal transmitted through the telephone network, usually
between
~ i .
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the first and second incoming rings, and is directly extracted by a modem or
line
interface connected to the receiver line called by the caller.
The procedure for polling a message code from a mufti-line receiver by
a single-line caller is described in Figs. 13 and 14, which will be described
in
below.
Attention is first drawn to Fig. 13 showing the principle steps of a
mufti-line receiver logic for message code polling by a single-line caller
(active
messaging party). At step 800 the passive messaging party's polling
registration
line is called and the caller is identified. At step 802 access to the mufti-
line
receiver is blocked to other con-current callers by switching the polling line
to
"busy". If there is a message waiting for the current caller, 804, then the
answer
line is switched to "busy", 806, for T secs., thereby indicating to the
interrogating
caller that a message is waiting.
If, at step 808, the active messaging party calls the receiver's answer-
line within T secs. then at step 810 the "time-out" procedure is initiated. If
at step
804 no message is waiting for the current caller then the caller waits for T
secs.
and control is transferred to step 836. Similarly, if the active messaging
party does
not call the receiver's answer-line within T secs. at step 808 then control is
also
transferred to step 836. At step 836 the polling procedure is terminated and
all the
receiver lines including the polling and message code registration lines are
set to
"free" . The polling procedure has to be restarted and is open to all callers.
As pointed out above message encoding is generated as a binary code
utilizing "busy" and "free" states of the incoming N lines of the passive
messaging
party. Initially, all the incoming N lines are set to "free" . At step 812 a
check is
made to see if number of code elements K (binary bits) comprising the message
code is greater or less than N. If K < N then the number of lines is large
enough
to allow encoding and at step 840 the required message code is built by
switching
L of the N lines to "busy". At step 838 a check is made for "time-out". If
"time-
out" is reached then the procedure is terminated at step 836. If "time-out" is
not
reached then a check is made, 834, to see if the caller has called the
receiver's
acknowledge-registration line, indicating that the message has been
successfully
polled.
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If at step 812 it is found that K > N, then the N lines are not sufficient
to allow encoding of a full binary message code. In this case the message code
is
divided into a number of successive cycles. The quantity [K/N] +1, where [x]
denotes the integer value of x, determined at step 814 is the number of
successive
cycles required.
The loop given by the steps 818 to 832 describes the encoding of the
message code in J cycles, at step 820, with preset scan time allowing the
caller
enough time to call the incoming receiver lines and an acknowledgement each
cycle
that the message code of that cycle has been read, at step 832. Again, when
the
procedure is completed or terminated due to "time-out" , ali the receiver
lines are
switched to "free" to allow for the next messaging procedure to start, at step
836.
Attention if now drawn to Fig. 14 showing the principle steps of a
single-line caller logic for message code polling from a mufti-line receiver.
At step
900 a trigger for a single-line active messaging party polling a message from
a
mufti-line receiver is set on. At steps 902 to 906 the receiver's polling
registration
line is called until it "free" . At step 908 the caller waits Tl secs. and
then
disconnects and then at step 910 calls the receiver's answer-registration
line. At
step 912 the state of the receiver's answer-registration line is checked. If
the line
is 'free" then there is no message waiting for the caller and at step 914 the
procedure is terminated. If the line is "busy" then there is a message waiting
for
the caller, 916, and the "time-out" procedure is initiated at step 918.
At step 920 the maximum number of code elements, K, is compared
with the number of receiver incoming lines, N. If K < N then the number of
incoming receiver lines is large enough to hold the complete message code and
control is transferred to step 922 where the line index i is set equal to zero
and the
polling process for a one cycle polling procedure begins. In the loop defined
by
steps 924 to 936 the message code is polled line-by-line as follows. First the
line
index, i, is set to l, then the pith line of the receiver is called, 926, and
a check
is made for the state of the line, 928, if it is "free", 930, the caller waits
for T2
secs. and then disconnects, whereas if the line is "busy", 932, the caller
waits for
T3 secs. and then disconnects. Following disconnection a check is made to see
if
the last coded line has been called, 934. If the last coded line has not been
called
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then a check for "TIME-OUT"' is made, 936. If "TIME-OUT' has not been
reached, then control is returned to step 924 and the next coded line is
called. If
"TIME-OUT' has been reached, then the message code has only partially been
polled and a partial acknowledge message code is prepared by the caller, 938.
If,
on the other hand, at step 934, the last coded line has been called then the
message
code has been fully polled and the caller appropriately acknowledges the
successful
completion of the polling procedure in steps 940 to 948.
If at step 920 it is found that K > N, then the N receiver lines are not
sufficient to hold the complete message code. In this case the message code is
divided into a number of successive cycles where J defines the number of
cycles
required to poll the message code. Steps 956 to 980, are identical to the
steps 924
to 946 for polling a message in one cycle. However, to steps 956 to 980, are
added steps 950 to 954 and steps 982 and 983 which cause the single cycle
polling
procedure to be repeated J times.
The present invention has been described and illustrated with a certain
degree of particularity. However, it should be understood that various
alterations
and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of
the
invention as hereinafter ciaimed.
Attention is now drawn to Figs. 15 and 16 which illustrate an example
of one line which serves for transmittal of messages between sender and
receiver
whilst utilizing the CEIC approach of the invention, i.e. an LSP that
constitutes a
code element that is attached to the IDC value and as explained before, this
is only
one out of many possible variants according to the invention.
Figs. 15 and 16 are essentially identical to Figs. 11 and 12 with minor
modifications. The blocks which are subject to modifications are designated in
the
same reference numerals as the counterpart block in Figs. 11 and 12 with the
addition of an apostrophe. The remaining blocks are identical and therefore
will
not be further explained herein. Turning at first to Fig. 16, a transmittal
sequence
is shown where in block 700' the code elements consist now of MSP and LSP
constituent as well as code elements relating to ringing time. In block 702'
MSC
is encoded using Ki elements. Each element represented by an LSP value
appended
to the sender's single MSP number in the sender IDC that is transmitted over
the
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network. The entire process continues as described in Fig. 12 with the
exception
that if time out has not been expired (block 712') the EIC code element (MSP
and
LSP) is transmitted to the receiver.
Turning now to Fig. 15 which resembles Fig. 11, the procedure of
receiving the combined MSP and LSP is described in block 600': In block 634'
the MSC element i is determined according to the so obtained code element LSPi
and the code element TRi {assuming that the session is on). In the case that
the
session has just commenced, the so extracted LSPi and TRi constitute the first
LSP
and ringing time elements, respectively, and the time out counting for the
session
is triggerred. It is, of course, not required that every call will include
both LSP
and Ti ringing period constituents, but for the sake of clarity, consider the
following example, where only LSP and ringing period code element are
regarded.
In the first ring LSP1 code element and Tl code element are obtained.
In the second ring LSPZ code element and T2 code element are obtained and in
the
third ring LSP3 code element and T3 code element are obtained (T1, T., and T3
are
not necessary unique and the same applies for LSP1, LSP2 and LSP3).
The three LSPs code elements form part of a code portion and likewise
the three ringing periods form part of a code portion of a code that
corresponds to
a given message (from a set of messages) that may be extracted by utilizing
e.g
LUT). As explained above, the order which the code elements are encoded may,
if desired, be significant for determining the corresponding message. Thus, by
way
of a non-limiting example, the sequence: LSP1 Tl in the first call; LSP2 T2 in
the
second call represents a different message than the sequence LSP2 T2 in the
first
call; LSP1 T1 in the second call.
If desired, other parameters such as caller telephone line, receiver
telephone line may also be used to further increase the number of combinations
which obviously increase the repertoire of messages.
It is important to note that the same combination may correspond to
different messages for respective callers (or recipients). Thus, by way of non-
limiting example, LSP1 T1 for one recipient corresponds to a first message
whereas the same combination LSP1 T1 for a different recipient corresponds to
a
second message.
