(12) United States Patent
`Gerszberg et al.
`
`US006424646B1
`US 6,424,646 B1
`*Jul. 23, 2002
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`(54) INTEGRATED SERVICES DIRECTOR (ISD)
`OVERALL ARCHITECTURE
`
`5,271,534 A * 12/1993 Fillmore et a1. .......... .. 222/380
`5,495,284 A
`2/1996 KatZ ......................... .. 348/15
`
`5,592,477 A
`
`1/1997 Farris et a1. . . . . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 370/396
`
`(75) Inventors: Irwin Gerszberg, Kendall Park;
`¥$§giRaK4n£2§
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`6/1997 Lin et a1. .................... .. 348/13
`5,635,980 A
`5,978,014 A 11/1999 Martin et a1. ............... .. 348/15
`6,061,326 A
`5/2000 Miller, 11 et a1. ......... .. 370/203
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Salamone S: “ISDN: Give Up and Go?” BYTE US
`-
`’
`’
`’
`:AT&TC .N YkNYUS
`73As
`McGraW—Hill Inc., St. Peterborough, vol. 21, No. 2, Feb. 1,
`slgnee
`(
`)
`Orp ’ 6W or ’
`(
`)
`1996’ pp‘ 75__76> 78 and 80'
`(*) Notice:
`This patent issued on a continued pros-
`Copy of Partial European Search Report for EP 98 30 3476,
`ecution application ?led under 37 CFR
`Completed Aug' 2_1> 2000'
`1.53(d), and is subject to the tWenty year
`patent term provisions of 35 USC US. Patent application 08/943,312 ?led Oct. 14, 1997,
`154(a)(2)_
`entitled Wideband Communication System for the Home, to
`Robert R. Miller, II and Jesse E. Russell, 21 pages.
`U-S- Patent application 08/858,170 ?led May 14, 1997,
`entitled Wide Band Transmission Through Wire, to Robert
`R. Miller, II, Jesse E. Russell and Richard R. Shively, 15
`pages.
`* cited by examiner
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U_S_C_ 154(k)) by 0 days_
`
`(21) Appl- NOJ 09/001,417
`
`Dec‘ 31’ 1997
`(22) Filed:
`(51) Int. c1.7 ........................... .. H04L 12/66- H04] 3/02
`(52)
`370/3’52 370/537
`(58) Field of Search ............................... .. 370/352, 395,
`370/486, 487, 465, 466, 467, 270, 271,
`542, 537; 39500063, 20081
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`Primary Examiner—Wellington Chin
`Assistant Examiner—Brenda Pham
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Banner & Witcoff, Ltd.
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`_
`_
`_
`_
`A video enable ansWermg machme havmg many neW fea
`tures including customized video announcement messages,
`caller ID based video announcement messages, and time
`based video announcement messages.
`
`4,760,442 A
`
`7/1988 O’Connell et a1. ....... .. 379/177
`
`38 Claims, 13 Drawing Sheets
`
`flO
`
`?4
`
`CUSTOMER
`PREMISES
`
`PROTECTOR
`BLOCK
`
`FOR EXAMPLE
`- SA>DSL MODEMS
`MULTIPLEXING
`' ROUTING
`- TR303 SIGNALING
`' PACKET/CIRCUIT
`CONVERSION
`' LINE MONITORING
`:
`4
`
`FACILITIES
`_ MGMT.
`PLATFORM
`(FMP)
`
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`CENTER
`3B\
`
`“J 35
`
`INTELLIGENT
`SERVICES
`DIRECTOR
`—— (ISOl
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`
`FOR EXAMPLE ' VOICE CODING
`
`DIGITAL
`PHONELSI
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`
`COMMON
`
`BACKBONE
`
`CSCO-1013
`Cisco v. TQ Delta
`Page 1 of 24
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 2002
`
`31f014|.6e.hS
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`US 6,424,646 B1
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`U.S. Patent
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 23, 2002
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`Sheet 3 0f 13
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`US 6,424,646 B1
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`Page 4 of 24
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`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 2002
`
`Sheet 4 0f 13
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`US 6,424,646 B1
`
`FIG. 3B
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`Page 5 of 24
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`

`
`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 23, 2002
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`Page 6 of 24
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`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 2002
`
`Sheet 6 0f 13
`
`US 6,424,646 B1
`
`FIG. 4B
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`Page 7 of 24
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 2002
`
`Sheet 7 0f 13
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`US 6,424,646 B1
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`Page 8 of 24
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`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 2002
`
`Sheet 8 0f 13
`
`US 6,424,646 B1
`
`FIG. BA
`
`VOICE 1
`/
`HDR V1
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`V2
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`Page 9 of 24
`
`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 23, 2002
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`31fl09¢I.Ce_hS
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 23, 2002
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`31f0014|.6e.hS
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 23, 2002
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`Sheet 11 of 13
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`US 6,424,646 B1
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`Page 12 of 24
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`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 2002
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`Sheet 12 0f 13
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`US 6,424,646 B1
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`FIG. 11
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`Page 13 of 24
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`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 2002
`
`Sheet 13 0f 13
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`US 6,424,646 B1
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`Page 14 of 24
`
`

`
`US 6,424,646 B1
`
`1
`INTEGRATED SERVICES DIRECTOR (ISD)
`OVERALL ARCHITECTURE
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The invention relates generally to telephone communica
`tion systems and, more particularly, to a telephone network
`interface unit typically disposed on the outside of a home or
`small business.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`As deregulation of the telephone industry continues and
`as companies prepare to enter the local telephone access
`market, there is a need to offer neW and innovative services
`that distinguish common carriers from their competitors.
`This cannot be accomplished Without introducing neW local
`access netWork architectures that Will be able to support
`these neW and innovative services.
`Conventionally, customer premises telephone and/or data
`connections contain splitters for separating analog voice
`calls from other data services such as Ethernet transported
`over digital subscriber line (DSL) modems. Voice band data
`and voice signals are sent through a communications sWitch
`in a central or local of?ce to an interexchange carrier or
`Internet service provider. DSL data is sent through a digital
`subscriber loop asynchronous mode (DSLAM) sWitch
`Which may include a router. The DSLAM sWitch connects
`many lines and routes the digital data to a telephone com
`pany’s digital sWitch.
`A major problem With this con?guration is that interex
`change carriers attempting to penetrate the local telephone
`company’s territory must lease trunk lines from the local
`telephone company sWitch to the interexchange company’s
`netWork for digital traf?c. Furthermore, the Internet service
`provider must lease a modem from the local phone company
`in the DSLAM sWitch and route its data through the local
`phone company’s digital sWitch. Thus, the local phone
`company leases and/or provides a signi?cant amount of
`equipment, driving up the cost of entry for any other
`company trying to provide local telephone services and
`making it dif?cult for the interexchange companies to dif
`ferentiate their services. Furthermore, since DSL modem
`technology is not standardiZed, in order to ensure
`compatibility, the type of DSL modem provided by the local
`telephone company must also be provided to the end user in
`the customer premises equipment (CPE). Additionally, since
`the netWork is not completely controlled by the interex
`change companies, it is dif?cult for the interexchange com
`panies to provide data at committed delivery rates and/or
`desired quality levels. Any performance improvements
`implemented by the interexchange companies may not be
`realiZed by their customers, because the capabilities of the
`local telephone company equipment may or may not meet
`their performance needs. Thus, it is dif?cult for the interex
`change companies to convince potential customers to sWitch
`to their equipment or to use their services. These factors
`ensure the continued market presence of the local telephone
`company.
`As part of this system there is a need for improved
`architectures, services and equipment utiliZed to distinguish
`the interexchange companies’ products and services.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`In order to provide an improved netWork, it is desirable
`for the interexchange companies to have access to at least
`one of the tWisted-pair lines or alternate Wireless facility
`
`65
`
`2
`connecting each of the individual users to the local tele
`phone netWork before the lines are routed through the
`conventional local telephone netWork equipment. It is pref
`erable to have access to these lines prior to the splitter and
`modem technology offered by the local service providers.
`By having access to the tWisted-pair Wires entering the
`customer’s premises, interexchange companies can differ
`entiate their services by providing higher bandWidth,
`improving the capabilities of the customer premises
`equipment, and loWering overall system costs to the cus
`tomer by providing competitive service alternatives.
`The neW architecture may utiliZe a video phone and/or
`other devices to provide neW services to an end user; an
`intelligent services director (ISD) disposed near the custom
`er’s premises for multiplexing and coordinating many digital
`services onto a single tWisted-pair line; a facilities manage
`ment platform (FMP) disposed in the local telephone net
`works central of?ce for routing data to an appropriate
`interexchange company netWork; and a netWork server
`platform (NSP) coupled to the FMP for providing neW and
`innovative services to the customer and for distinguishing
`services provided by the interexchange companies from
`those services provided by the local telephone netWork.
`As part of this system, one aspect of the invention
`provides active components located in the netWork access
`unit such as a modem, multiplexer, and a controller.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The foregoing summary of the invention, as Well as the
`folloWing detailed description of preferred embodiments, is
`better understood When read in conjunction With the accom
`panying draWings, Which are included by Way of example,
`and not by Way of limitation With regard to the claimed
`invention.
`FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a hybrid ?ber tWisted
`pair local loop architecture.
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an
`intelligent services director consistent With the architecture
`shoWn in FIG. 1.
`FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate an embodiment of a video
`phone consistent With the architecture shoWn in FIG. 1.
`FIG. 4A is a block diagram of an embodiment of a
`facilities management platform consistent With the architec
`ture shoWn in FIG. 1.
`FIG. 4B illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of
`a netWork server platform consistent With the architecture
`shoWn in FIG. 1.
`FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the ISD.
`FIGS. 6A and 6B are block diagrams of various frame
`structures Which may be used to communicate betWeen the
`ISD and the FMP.
`FIGS. 7A and 7B are examples of one signaling structure
`Which may be used to initiate a call.
`FIGS. 8—10 are various embodiments of the ISD.
`FIG. 11 is an example of one protocol stack for use With
`the ISD.
`FIG. 12 is a one exemplary embodiment of a form factor
`for the ISD.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS
`Referring to FIG. 1, a ?rst exemplary communication
`netWork architecture employing a hybrid ?ber, tWisted-pair
`(HFTP) local loop 1 architecture is shoWn. An intelligent
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`3
`services director (ISD) 22 may be coupled to a central office
`34 via a tWisted-pair Wire, hybrid ?ber interconnection,
`Wireless and/or other customer connection 30, a connector
`block 26, and/or a main distribution frame (MDF) 28. The
`ISD 22 and the central or local office 34 may communicate
`With each other using, for example, framed, time division,
`frequency-division, synchronous, asynchronous and/or
`spread spectrum formats, but in exemplary embodiments
`uses DSL modem technology. The central office 34 prefer
`ably includes a facilities management platform (FMP) 32 for
`processing data exchanged across the customer connection
`30. The FMP 32 may be con?gured to separate the plain old
`telephone service (POTS) from the remainder of the data on
`the customer connection 30 using, for example, a tethered
`virtual radio channel (TVRC) modem (shoWn in FIG. 4A).
`The remaining data may be output to a high speed backbone
`netWork (e.g., a ?ber-optic network) such as an asynchro
`nous transfer mode (ATM) sWitching netWork. The analog
`POTS data may be output directly to a public sWitch
`telephone netWork (PSTN) 46, and/or it may be digitiZed,
`routed through the high speed backbone netWork, and then
`output to the PSTN 46.
`The FMP 32 may process data and/or analog/digitiZed
`voice betWeen customer premise equipment (CPE) 10 and
`any number of netWorks. For example, the FMP 32 may be
`interconnected With a synchronous optical netWork
`(SONET) 42 for interconnection to any number of additional
`netWorks such as an InterSpan backbone 48, the PSTN 46,
`a public sWitch sWitching netWork (eg call setup SS7-type
`netWork 44), and/or a netWork server platform (NSP) 36.
`Alternatively, the FMP 32 may be directly connected to any
`of these netWorks. One or more FMPs 32 may be connected
`directly to the high speed backbone netWork (e.g., direct
`?ber connection With the SONET netWork 42) or they may
`be linked via a trunk line (e.g., trunks 40 or 42) to one or
`more additional netWorks.
`The NSP 36 may provide a massive cache storage for
`various information that may be provided across the SONET
`net 42 to the FMP 32 and out to the ISD 22. The NSP 36 and
`the FMP 32 may collectively de?ne an access netWork
`server complex 38. The NSP 36 may be interconnected With
`multiple FMPs 32. Furthermore, each FMP 32 may inter
`connect With one or more ISDs 22. The NSP 36 may be
`located anyWhere but is preferably located in a point-of
`presence (POP) facility. The NSP 36 may further act as a
`gateWay to, for example, any number of additional services.
`The ISD 22 may be interconnected to various devices
`such as a videophone 130, other digital phones 18, set-top
`devices, computers, and/or other devices comprising the
`customer premise equipment 10. The customer premise
`equipment may individually or collectively serve as a local
`netWork computer at the customer site. Application applets
`may be doWnloaded from the NSP 36 into some or all of the
`individual devices Within the customer premise equipment
`10. Where applets are provided by the NSP 36, the pro
`gramming of the applets may be updated such that the
`applets are continually con?gured to the latest softWare
`version by the interexchange carrier. In this Way, the CPE 10
`may be kept up to date by simply re-loading updated applets.
`In addition, certain applets may be resident on any of the
`CPE 10. These resident applets may be periodically reini
`tialiZed by simply sending a request from, for example, a
`digital phone 18 and/or a videophone 130 to the FMP 32 and
`thereafter to the NSP 36 for reinitialiZation and doWnloading
`of neW applets. To ensure Widespread availability of the neW
`features made possible by the present architecture, the
`customer premise equipment may be provided to end users
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`either at a subsidiZed cost or given aWay for free, With the
`cost of the equipment being amortiZed over the services sold
`to the user through the equipment.
`Referring to FIG. 2, the ISD 22 may connect With a
`variety of devices including analog and digital voice tele
`phones 15, 18; digital videophones 130, devices for moni
`toring home security, meter reading devices (not shoWn),
`utilities devices/energy management facilities (not shoWn),
`facsimile devices 16, personal computers 14, and/or other
`digital or analog devices. Some or all of these devices may
`be connected With the ISD 22 via any suitable mechanism
`such as a single and/or multiple tWisted-pair Wires and/or a
`Wireless connection. For example, a number of digital
`devices may be multi-dropped on a single tWisted-pair
`connection. Similarly, analog phones and other analog
`devices may be multi-dropped using conventional tech
`niques.
`The ISD 22 may be located Within the home/business or
`mounted exterior to the home/business. The ISD 22 may
`operate from electrical poWer supplied by the local or central
`of?ce 34 and/or from the customer’s poWer supplied by the
`customer’s poWer company. Where the ISD 22 includes a
`modem, it may be desirable to poWer the ISD 22 With
`supplemental poWer from the home in order to provide
`suf?cient poWer to enable the optimal operation of the
`modem.
`As shoWn in FIG. 2, in some embodiments the ISD 22
`may include a controller 100 Which may have any of a
`variety of elements such as a central processing unit 102, a
`DRAM 103, an SRAM 104, a ROM 105 and/or an internet
`protocol (IP) bridge router 106 connecting the controller 100
`to a system bus 111. The system bus 111 may be connected
`With a variety of netWork interface devices 110. The netWork
`interface devices 110 may be variously con?gured to include
`an integrated services digital netWork (ISDN) interface 113,
`an Ethernet interface 119 (e.g., for 28.8 kbs data, 56 kbs
`data, ISDN, 10 BaseT, 100 BaseT, etc.), an IEEE 1394 “?re
`Wire” interface 112 (e.g., for a digital videodisc device
`(DVD)), a TVRC modem interface 114 (e.g., for a digital
`subscriber line (DSL) modem), a residential interface 115,
`(e.g., standard POTS phone systems such as tip ring), a
`business interface 116 (e.g., a T1 line and/or PABX
`interface), a radio frequency (RF) audio/video interface 120
`(e.g., a cable television connection), and a cordless phone
`interface 123 (e.g., a 900 MHZ transceiver). Connected to
`one of the netWork interfaces and/or the system bus 111 may
`be any number of devices such as an audio interface 122
`(e.g., for digital audio, digital telephones, digital audio tape
`(DAT) recorders/players, music for restaurants, MIDI
`interface, DVD, etc.), a digital phone 121, a videophone/
`user interface 130, a television set-top device 131 and/or
`other devices. Where the netWork interface is utiliZed, it may
`be desirable to use, for example, the IEEE 1394 interface
`112 and/or the Ethernet interface 119.
`A lifeline 126 may be provided for continuous telephone
`service in the event of a poWer failure at the CPE 10. The
`lifeline 126 may be utiliZed to connect the ISD 22 to the
`local telecommunications companys central of?ce 34 and, in
`particular, to the FMP 32 located in the central office 34.
`The ISD may be variously con?gured to provide any
`number of suitable services. For example, the ISD 22 may
`offer high ?delity radio channels by alloWing the user to
`select a particular channel and obtaining a digitiZed radio
`channel from a remote location and outputting the digital
`audio, for example, on audio interface 122, video phone 130,
`and/or digital phones 121. A digital telephone may be
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`US 6,424,646 B1
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`5
`connected to the audio interface 122 such that a user may
`select any one of a number of digital audio service channels
`by simply having the user push a digital audio service
`channel button on the telephone and have the speaker phone
`output particular channels. The telephone may be prepro
`gramed to provide the digital audio channels at a particular
`time, such as a Wake up call for bedroom mounted
`telephone, or elseWhere in the house. The user may select
`any number of services on the video phone and/or other user
`interface such as a cable set-top device. These services may
`include any number of suitable services such as Weather,
`headlines in the neWs, stock quotes, neighborhood commu
`nity services information, ticket information, restaurant
`information, service directories (e.g., yelloW pages), call
`conferencing, billing systems, mailing systems, coupons,
`advertisements, maps, classes, Internet, pay-per-vieW
`(PPV), and/or other services using any suitable user inter
`face such as the audio interface 122, the video phone/user
`interface 130, digital phones, 121 and/or another suitable
`device such as a settop device 131.
`In further embodiments, the ISD 22 may be con?gured as
`an IP proxy server such that each of the devices connected
`to the server utiliZes transmission control protocol/internet
`protocol (TCP/IP) protocol. This con?guration alloWs any
`device associated With the ISD to access the Internet via an
`IP connection through the FMP 32. Where the ISD 22 is
`con?gured as an IP proxy server, it may accommodate
`additional devices that do not support the TCP/IP protocol.
`In this embodiment, the ISD 22 may have a proprietary or
`conventional interface connecting the ISD 22 to any asso
`ciated device such as to the set top box 131, the personal
`computer 14, the video telephone 130, the digital telephone
`18, and/or some other end user device.
`In still further embodiments, the ISD 22 may be compat
`ible With multicast broadcast services Where multicast infor
`mation is broadcast by a central location and/or other server
`on one of the netWorks connected to the FMP 32, e.g., an
`ATM-sWitched netWork. The ISD 22 may doWnload the
`multicast information via the FMP 32 to any of the devices
`connected to the ISD 22. The ISD 22 and/or CPE 10 devices
`may selectively ?lter the information in accordance With a
`speci?c customer user’s preferences. For example, one user
`may select all country music broadcasts on a particular day
`While another user may select ?nancial information. The
`ISD 22 and/or any of the CPE 10 devices may also be
`programmed to store information representing users’ pref
`erences and/or the received uni-cast or multicast information
`in memory or other storage media for later replay. Thus, for
`example, video clips or movies may be multicast to all
`customers in the community With certain users being pre
`con?gured to select the desired video clip/movie in real time
`for immediate vieWing and/or into storage for later vieWing.
`Referring to FIG. 3A, a videophone 130 may include a
`touch screen display 141 and soft keys 142 around the
`perimeter of the display 141. The display may be responsive
`to touch, pressure, and/or light input. Some or all of the soft
`keys 142 may be programmable and may vary in function
`depending upon, for example, the applet being run by the
`videophone 130. The function of each soft key may be
`displayed next to the key on the display 141. The functions
`of the soft keys 142 may also be manually changed by the
`user by pressing scroll buttons 143. The videophone 140
`may also include a handset 144 (Which may be connected via
`a cord or Wireless connection to the rest of the videophone
`and/or directly to the ISD), a keypad 150, a video camera
`145, a credit card reader 146, a smart card slot 147, a
`microphone 149, a motion and/or light detector 148, built-in
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`speaker(s) 155, a printer/scanner/facsimile 152, and/or
`external speakers 154 (e.g., stereo speakers). A keyboard
`153 and/or a postage scale 151 may also be connected to the
`videophone 130. Any or all of the above-mentioned items
`may be integrated With the videophone unit itself or may be
`physically separate from the videophone unit. A block
`diagram of the video phone unit is shoWn in FIG. 3B.
`Referring to FIG. 3B, in addition to the items above, the
`video phone 130 may also include a signal processor 171,
`high speed interface circuitry 172, memory 173, poWer
`supply 174, all interconnected via a controller 170.
`When the videophone 130 is used as a video telephone,
`the display 141 may include one or more video WindoW(s)
`160 for vieWing a person to Whom a user is speaking and/or
`shoWing the picture seen by the person on the other end of
`the video phone. The display may also include a dialed
`telephone-number WindoW 161 for displaying the phone
`number dialed, a virtual keypad 162, viral buttons 163 for
`performing various telephone functions, service directory
`icons 165, a mail icon 164, and/or various other service
`icons 166 Which may be used, for example, for obtaining
`coupons or connecting With an operator. Any or all of these
`items may be displayed as virtual buttons and/or graphic
`icons and may be arranged in any combination. Additionally,
`any number of other display features may be shoWn on the
`video phone in accordance With one or more of the appli
`cations incorporated by reference beloW.
`Referring to FIG. 4A, the FMP 32 may coordinate the
`How of data packets, separate voice signals from other
`signals, perform line monitoring and sWitching functions,
`and/or convert betWeen analog and digital signals. The FMP
`32 may process data sent from the CPE 10 to the central or
`local of?ce 34 by separating and reconstructing analog voice
`signals, data, and control frames. The FMP 32 may process
`data sent from the central or local office 34 to the CPE 10 by
`separating control messages from user information, and
`con?gure this information into segments that for transport
`across the digital subscriber loop. The FMP 32 may also
`terminate the link layer associated With the digital subscriber
`loop.
`In some embodiments, the FMP 32 may include an access
`module 70 and a digital loop carrier 87. The access module
`70 may include a line protector 71, a cross-connector 73, a
`plurality of TVRC modems 80, a plurality of digital ?lters
`82, a controller multiplexer 84, and/or a router and facilities
`interface 86. The digital loop carrier 87 may include a
`plurality of line cards 96, a time domain multiplexing
`(TDM) multiplexor (MUX) 88, a TDM bus 90, a controller
`92, and/or a facilities interface 94.
`During normal operations, digital signals on the customer
`connection 30 (e.g., tWisted-pair lines) containing both voice
`and data may be received by the TVRC modems 80 via the
`line protector 71 and the cross-connector 73. Preferably, the
`line protector 71 includes lightning blocks for grounding
`poWer surges due to lightning or other stray voltage surges.
`The TVRC modems 80 may send the digital voice and/or
`data signals to the controller multiplexor 84 and the digital
`?lters 82. The digital ?lters 82 may separate the voice
`signals from the digital data signals, and the controller
`multiplexor 84 may then multiplex the voice signals and/or
`data signals received from the digital ?lters 82. The con
`troller multiplexor 84 may then send multiplexed voice
`signals to the TDM MUX 88 and the data signals to the
`router and facilities interface 86 for transmission to one or
`more external netWorks. The TDM MUX 88 may multiplex
`the voice signals from the controller multiplexor 84 and/or
`send the voice signals to the TDM bus 90, Which may then
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`send the digital voice signals to the controller 92 and then to
`the facilities interface 94 for transmission to one or more
`external networks. Both the router and facilities interface 86
`and the facilities interface 94 may convert betWeen electrical
`signals and optical signals When a ?ber optic link is utilized.
`When there is a failure of the digital data link (e.g., if there
`is a failure of the TVRC modems 80 at the FMP 32 or the
`TVRC modem 114 at the ISD 22), only analog voice signals
`might be sent over the subscriber lines 30. In such a case, the
`analog voice signals may be directly routed to the line cards
`96, bypassing the TVRC modems 80, the digital ?lters 82,
`the controller multiplexor 84, and the TDM MUX 88. Thus,
`voice communication is ensured despite a failure of the
`digital data link. The line cards 96 may convert the analog
`voice signals into digital format (e.g., TDM format) and
`send the digitiZed voice data onto the TDM bus 90 and
`eventually through the controller 92 and the facilities inter
`face 94 for transmission to one or more external netWorks.
`Referring to FIG. 4B, the NSP 36 may be variously
`con?gured to provide any number of services provided by a
`server such as information services, Internet services, pay
`per-vieW movie services, data-base services, commercial
`services, and/or other suitable services. In the embodiment
`shoWn in FIG. 4B, the NSP 36 includes a router 185 having
`a backbone 180 (e.g., a ?ber distributed data interface
`(FDDI) backbone) that interconnects a management server
`182, an information/database server 183, and/or one or more
`application server clusters 184. The NSP 36 may be con
`nected via the router 185 by a link 181 to one or more
`external netWorks, NSPs 36, and/or an FMPs 32. The
`information/data base server 183 may perform storage and/
`or database functions. The application server cluster 184
`may maintain and control the doWnloading of applets to the
`ISD 22. The NSP 36 may also include a voice/call processor
`186 con?gured to handle call and data routing functions,
`set-up functions, distributed operating system functions,
`voice recognition functions for spoken commands input
`from any of the ISD connected devices as Well as other
`functions.
`Again referring to FIG. 2, the ISD Will noW be explained
`in more detail. The ISD enables the seamless integration of
`voice and data across the telephone netWork. The ISD
`utiliZes leverages interface and netWorking innovations
`originally developed to expedite information retrieval via
`the World Wide Web. When applie