CS276136B6 - Terminal equipment for telephone systems ensuring various services - Google Patents

Abstract

The protection unit described is intended for communications services, such as the telephone, teletext, telex, fax and so on. The connections at exchanges and the equipment at terminals have differing interfaces and between there are converters. These converters are coupled to a multiplexing line, connecting the exchanges and the terminals together, esp. in the case of an integrated services digital network (ISDN). The protection unit includes these converters and a microprocessor to facilitate the exchanges.

Description

(57)

For telephone equipment terminal equipment providing different services where the subscriber line (A) of the control panel and the terminal equipment (VE, TE2, TE3) have different interfaces and there are converters (SA, SVE, STE, ST3) between these interfaces to enable the creation various interconnection combinations while maintaining the economical possibility of maintenance of the equipment by the network operator adjusted the necessary interconnection converters between the local loop and the bus system (BUS) and between the bus system and the end devices (VE, TE2, TE3) in the closable box (G). and at least one microprocessor (MP) _{8 is provided} which, in interaction with the control panel, controls the transmission of the information signals via the bus system.

CS 276136 b6

(B)

GIANT. 4

The invention relates to a terminal equipment for telephone systems providing various services in which the subscriber lines of the control panel and the terminal apparatus find different interfaces and at least one interface converter is required, in particular for an ISDN system (digital networks and service integration).

According to the state of the art of telephone technology, a large number of different transmission networks, which operate more or less independently of one another, are needed to provide various services such as teletext, telex, videotext, data transmission at different speeds, data volume conversion, remote copying, etc. Each of these networks usually requires its own local loop to each participant. Furthermore, different interfaces are defined for each network, both in terms of their physical characteristics (according to the transmission technique) and in terms of connection control procedures and protocols (i.e. establishing and canceling connections). As a result, terminal devices can only be operated on a specific network. Since some services are offered over several different networks, different types of terminal devices also need to be used for the services themselves.

A large number of standardized connection control procedures and protocols have utilized terminal intelligence to exchange information with the control panel. This means that the terminal equipment must fulfill the essential control tasks in establishing and canceling connections. Incorrectly programmed terminals can therefore also lead to significant failures in the control panel. Therefore, for each network operator (eg postal administration), it is essential that a large number of terminal equipment offered by different manufacturers for different services in different networks be subjected to precise admissibility testing, and only allow the connection of admissible devices. This leads to high costs for network operators and unnecessary restrictions on the offered terminal equipment.

To improve the situation outlined above, two options are known, namely Network Independent Interface (Nile) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN).

In a network independent connection (Nile), a connection converter is provided at the subscriber between the local loop and the terminal. This converter can be designed differently for different telephone networks and interconnects different control procedures for transmission and connection to a single network-independent interface. Accordingly, all terminal devices can be equipped with the same interface and therefore the service-specific devices can also be connected to different networks. Each transducer is equipped with the intelligence needed to control and connect, that is, for example, the terminal can communicate via a network independent interface to the transducer the desire to establish a connection and can transmit the necessary information, such as connection destination, service type, etc. The converter then controls the establishment of the connection separately in correlation with the control panel. This has the advantage that the errors of the terminal devices are blocked from the connection network and can not lead to malfunctions there. Therefore, network operators need to test for admissibility only one converter for each network. The converters are conveniently made available and maintained by the network operator. The network-independent interface then establishes the connection and the terminal devices belonging to the subscriber and no longer needing an admissibility test.

This solution has the disadvantage that, in addition to the terminal equipment, the converters are also required for the subscriber. Furthermore, when introducing this interface, very many subscribers will wish that the already installed terminals can continue to be used with BIT-independent interfaces, already standardized. In this case, additional transducers will be required for the subscriber to be connected between the above transducers and terminal devices, and which translate a power-independent interface to that terminal device interface.

Shpra's proposed Digital Telephone Force with Service Integration (ISDN) combines all the services offered in a common digital network. (Cf., for example, Telecom Report, 1983, Book 3, pp. 164-169, Siemen A.G.). Only one pair of wires is required for each participant through which various terminal devices (also several devices) are connected to the control panel. This so-called Basic Access offers two channels and 64 kbit / s for call, facslmile, fast data, etc., and one 16 kbit / s channel for control of connections and data transmitted in the CCITT standard at the same time and for data in bundles. Connection control protocols are unified and also standardized by CCITT for all services. For the subscriber, it is necessary to adjust the converter between the local loop and each terminal, the so-called network terminal (NT), which transfers between the transmission technology used on the local loop and non-standardized, and from the interface of the internationally standardized CCITT to all details, at least one terminal, the so-called S interface. This converter will usually be the property of the respective network operator. The S interface represents the boundary for terminal devices owned by the subscriber. If we follow the idea of ISDN, in the future, all terminal devices in the world can come out with a single type of interface. However, bearing in mind that it will also be necessary to connect existing terminals to standardized interfaces, additional transducers, so-called terminal adapters (terminal abbreviations TA), which make the connection between S interface and terminal interface.

The protocols defined for ISDN connection control use - just as described above - the intelligence of the terminals, which also requires network operators to review the admissibility of all connected terminals. The disadvantages of this procedure have already been described. One possibility would be to use the ISDN NI, which is also likely to succeed. However, this requires an additional transducer at the subscriber between the S and Nil interfaces, which assumes the role of link control. This converter should also remain the property of the network operator.

Telephone operation is also carried out via the ISDN system. Since this type of communication is the most important of all telephone services, it is still unusual for network operators to guarantee and provide this function even in the event of a power outage. For this reason, each telephone subscriber also has at least one telephone (a so-called "tester") that is owned and maintained by the operator. In principle, this concept is also adhered to by the ISDN system. According to the current understanding of ISDN, this would mean that for each ISDN subscriber, in addition to the power terminal (NT), its own basic telephone set owned by the network operator would be modified. This would be connected to the S interface and at least in the event of a power outage, it would be supplied with power via the S interface and the local loop.

The implementation of the ISDN ns system for the whole territory will surely take a long time for the year 2000 for investment reasons. It is therefore necessary to count on the existence of a large number of different interfaces side by side for many years. For network operators, however, this means that there will still be a large number of different types of converters for which network operators must assume responsibility. For most subscribers, a larger number of converters owned by the relevant network operator will need to be placed and ISDN subscribers to do so. still a basic telephone. This is certainly not an economically optimal solution and, moreover, entails high costs for admission tests as well as for the maintenance and maintenance of the installed equipment.

The invention is therefore based on the task of providing a terminal device for the telephone system of the type mentioned above, which would make it possible to use a large number of interconnection combinations for different interfaces in a more economical and less laborious manner.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by interconnecting the interfaces to an internal bus system by which the local loop interfaces and the interfaces of the individual terminals are connected to each other and through which the information signals are portable to the bus system between the interfaces. * wherein the terminals are adapted to transmit information relating to the requested service and the requested subscriber to a common internal microprocessor connected to the bus system or to separate internal microprocessors connected directly to the interface converters and the respective microprocessor itself is adapted to set up and cancel the desired connections via the local loop in interaction with the control panel, and wherein all the necessary interface converters are located in a closable one , in particular a sealable housing, from which the subscriber lines of the control panel and the cables to the terminal apparatus emanate.

Thus, in the terminal device according to the invention, all the parts of the device subject to the right of disposal and the maintenance obligation of the respective network operator are located in the closable cabinet, and converters of different types can be combined with one or more microprocessors. the transmission methods used and, secondly, according to the requirements of the services required by the subscriber or the terminal apparatus, by interconnecting optional transmission paths and transmitting via these paths information corresponding to the desired services. The necessary types of converters are made available by the network operator according to the services requested by the subscriber or the terminal equipment to be used. By controlling the establishment and termination of the desired connection via the local loop in the interaction with the control panel, the microprocessor is shielded or protected from terminal equipment errors not subject to the maintenance obligations of the network operator.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with the aid of schematic drawings.

Giant. 1 illustrates a terminal equipment for a telephone system providing various services in accordance with the prior art.

Giant. 2 and 3 show each one of the minimum configurations of a terminal device according to the invention controlled by only one or two microprocessors.

Giant. 4 shows a terminal device according to the invention with a telephone apparatus guaranteeing the basic function of telephony and with other terminals providing various services and preferably supplied with mains current in terms of their energy consumption.

The terminal according to FIG. 1 corresponding to the prior art is assumed that the subscriber is equipped with subscriber line A to the ISDN system. The subscriber has in addition to the VE telephone, e.g. digital, necessary for the basic telephone function, e.g. S according to the ISDN system, one TE2 terminal and an X25 interface (CCITT standardized nomenclature is used here where possible), and a TE3 terminal and a Nil interface. The mains connection NT makes the necessary connection between the subscriber line A and the standard S interface. Other terminals can be connected in parallel on the S interface, if they have, as TE1 terminal and a VE digital telephone, S interface or insertion of different TA1 adapters. or TA2 of the terminal apparatus, the adapters of which make the connection between the interface 6 and, for example, the interface X25 of the terminal TE2, or between the interface OTI of the terminal TE3. According to the prior art, all converters are NT. TA1 and TA2, as well as the 1 telephone set VE shown in FIG. 1, are separate devices which are separate from one another but which are expediently the property of the network operator whose duty is to maintain them.

Giant. 2 shows schematically one minimum configuration of a terminal device according to the invention in which a common microprocessor MP is provided for all interconnecting converters. In the common cabinet G, a connection converter SA is connected to the subscriber line A coming from the exchange. which is adapted to the characteristics of the local loop A dependent on the telephone network. In addition, a STE interface converter is connected to the cable K leading to the TE terminal. which is adapted to the TE terminal interface characteristics. The SA and STE converters are connected to each other and to the microprocessor MP via BUS, as is known in the microprocessor technique. For the sake of clarity, neither the memory elements belonging to each microprocessor are shown here or in the following figures.

The microprocessor controls the exchange of information between the converters. Preferably, it is designed to receive information about the requested service and the requested subscriber from each terminal and, in interaction with the exchange, can control the establishment and termination of the connection via the subscriber line. In particular, it is achieved that the programming of the terminal devices can be independent of the telephone networks used, since the intelligence required to control the connection is transferred to the microprocessor of the terminal. Since this microprocessor is subject to the maintenance obligation of the network operator, the control panel is further shielded from disturbances caused by malfunctioning terminal devices.

Giant. 3 shows schematically another minimum configuration of a terminal device according to the invention, in which each of the interface converters SA and STE is assigned a microprocessor MP1. optionally MP2. The solution of FIG. 2 with a common microprocessor for all interface converters requires little structural cost, but the microprocessor must be programmed to cooperate with all given and different types of interface converters. In addition, the microprocessor must be able to simultaneously handle all the ee tasks for each interface converter. These both requirements can lead to difficulties in using a plurality of different types of interface converters and also when, as indicated in Fig. 4, many converters are provided in the terminal. It is therefore advantageous to assign to each interface converter its own microprocessor, which is programmed specifically for the tasks of the converter.

Giant. 4 shows an extended configuration of the terminal device according to the invention, which is equipped with only one microprocessor according to FIG. 2, but could also be adapted in the sense of FIG. 3. Inside the common housing G, the interface converter SA is again located. connected and via A line, BUS system and MP microprocessor. which perform the same functions as the end device of FIG. 2.

According to FIG. 4, for example, a telephone set VE is connected to the BUS system via an SVE converter and a K1 cable. for the guaranteed telephony function, then via the STE2 converter connecting to the Σ25 interface, and via the K2 cable, the TE2 terminal and finally the STE3 converter connecting the NU interface. and the TE3 terminal via cable.

Conveniently, the part of the equipment enclosed in the housing G is also owned and maintained by the network operator, which provides a basic function as a testing device.

To provide the basic telephony function in the event of a mains power failure, the SVE converter is designed to transmit at least the mains power supply to the telephone to the VE telephone to maintain the essential function from the control panel or the power supply located in cabinet G. The energy consumption of the other terminal devices TE2, ,3, etc. is and is advantageously covered by the mains current.

In practice, it is necessary for the subscriber to notify the network operator (eg postal administration) of the terminal devices to be used that are standardized or non-standardized in their interface, after which the network operator makes available terminal equipment with all necessary converters and microprocessors. and preferably sealed. Of the terminals that can be connected in any number in parallel, only the VE telephone needs admission and maintenance by the network operator, while other terminals do not need admission and can be modified in any number. The flexible connection option is advantageously achieved by providing a plurality of plug-in locations on the BUS bus system into which the type-specific converters can be inserted, for example in the form of plug-in conductive plates.

Especially when used in an ISDN system, the programs in the microprocessors of the terminal device can advantageously be designed to offer additional convenience to the telephone service, such as telephone directory function, caller telephone number announcement, call waiting notification, etc., using another terminal. than a telephone, such as a video terminal.

PATENT CLAIMS

Claims (2)

1. Terminal equipment for telephone systems providing various services, in which the subscriber line and the terminals connected thereto have different interfaces and interconnecting converters are provided between them, in particular for a digital network system β by component integration, characterized in that converters (SA, STE, STE2, STE3, SVE) are connected to the internal bus system (BUS), by which the connection converter (SA) of the local loop (A) and the connection converters (STE, SVE, STE2, STE3) of each terminal devices (TE, VE, TE2, TE3) and through which the information signals by connection of at least one internal microprocessor (MP. MP1, MP2) are transferable on ebemic ayat (BUS) between the interface converters (SA, STE, STE2, STE3, SVE), wherein the terminal devices (TE, VE, TE2, TE3) are adapted to transmit information relating to the required service and the microprocessor (MP) connected to the ebemic system (BUS) or to the separate internal microprocessors (MP1, MP2) connected directly to the interface converters (SA, STE) and the respective microprocessor (MP, MP1) The MP2) itself is adapted to establish and cancel the desired link via the local loop (A) in interaction with the control panel, and wherein all the necessary interface converters (SA, STE, SVE, STE2, STE3) are located in a sealed, especially sealable housing (G). ) from which you come from! subscriber lines (A) of control panel and cables (K) to terminal equipment (TE, VE, TE2, TE3). Terminal device according to claim 1, characterized in that a separate interface converter (SVE) is provided for the telephone (VE), which is also arranged to transmit operating energy, while the other terminals (TE2, TE3) are supplied with mains current. . 2 drawings GS 276136