FR2530843A1 - Interface device for a telematics station. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an interface device for a telematics station. It is a microcomputer (Bus on which there are connected a microprocessor, backed-up volatile random-access memory, non-volatile random-access memory, read-only memory) making it possible to resolve: - the technical problems of compatibility between the various elements of a telematics network (host computer, transmission network, workstations, application); - the ergonomic problems linked to the complexity of the connection procedures and to the existence of computer background noise. It also makes it possible to carry out chaining of data exchanges between workstations and computer or between two workstations. It provides transcoding of messages, flow control and routing of data between the various elements of the workstation.

Description

 The use of IT from terminals poses technical and ergonomic problems.

 The technical problems relate above all to the coherence which must exist between the various elements of a computer system. These various elements are. the workstation, the computer network, the host computers and the applications. These consistency problems are manifested in particular in terms of transmission modes and speeds as well as in the codes used. These technical constraints can force the designer of the system to rule out such a workstation, such network, such computer or such application of a good value for money, but presenting inconsistencies with the other elements which are moreover sometimes imposed because existing. These technical problems also lie in the composition of the workstation, where it can often prove useful and sometimes necessary to add to the traditional visual or teletypewriter a variety of peripherals such as electromechanical plotters, coordinates readers, readers badges, diskette or fax units, even using an ordinary telephone set as a computer terminal.

 From an ergonomic point of view, it is important that the computer system is as transparent as possible to the user. In this area the problems lie in particular in connection procedures and in the use of the workstation.

 The procedures for connecting a workstation to a computer are often subject to relatively complex algorithms, which are seldom mastered by the end user. In addition, the implementation of applications on computers is marred by background noise consisting of Sybillin messages, most often denominated in English and sent by the network or the computer's operating system.

 These problems are aggravated when the same workstation must successively access several computers across several networks.

Indeed, the connection procedures differ from one computer to another, the messages are different and the usual functions can be obtained by different keys or dialogs.

 To solve these technical and ergonomic problems adaptations are necessary: it is rarely possible to carry them out at the level of workstation or operating system devices which cannot be modified without risk by someone other than the manufacturer . It is generally expensive and sometimes inadequate to make these adaptations at the application level and often impossible to do at the network level. As a result, the solution of using an interface device located between the workstation and the computer is generally adopted.

 Known devices respond poorly to the problems posed and they are specific to a given function or material (automatic connection or management of such a device), their adaptability is limited. Indeed, the information necessary for the performance of the functions is not pa ramétrable or when they are. the various corresponding parameters are frozen in read-only memories or on the contrary implanted in a volatile memory, which is to be reset after each power-off of the device. As regards the automatic progress of certain procedures, such as connection, we often note deficiencies; Certain devices being incapable of automatically chaining several exchanges, which forces the user to manually trigger the various phases of the procedure, others being able to automatically chain exchanges with the computer only in a linear and predetermined fashion, which excludes the taking into account complex algorithms with graph or network structure.

 Furthermore, known devices rarely take into account the objective of transparency for the user.

 The device according to the invention makes it possible to solve the technical and ergonomic problems mentioned while avoiding the drawbacks of the known devices.

 It is composed of a microcomputer capable of performing flow control, transcoding, automatic sequence of exchanges between the various workstation devices and the computer even when these exchanges are governed by algorithms the most general. These functions are described by parameters located in a RAM but not volatile.

 Figure I shows the internal structure of the device.

 It is built around a Bus (I) comprising the data, address and control lines, to which are connected - a microprocessor (2) - frozen program memory (3): REPROM memory - memory of work (4): volatile random access memory - of the buffer memory (5): volatile random access memory implemented during the control of flow.

- data memory - - (6): random access memory saved.

- an 8-bit parallel interface (7) connected to a telephone dialer (8) on which a telephone line (9) arrives.

- four serial asynchronous transmission couplers (10), (11), (12), (13).

Each coupler has its adaptation interface in accordance with Notice V24 of the
CCITT: interfaces (14), (15), (16), (17).

The coupler (14) is connected to a modem (18) receiving the telephone line (9).

The coupler (15) is connected to a conversational terminal (19) or ETTD1 (Data Transmission Terminal Equipment) which will allow local dialogue with the device and data exchange with the network via the modem.

The couplers (16) and (17) are intended to receive non-standard ETTD2 (20) and ETTD3 (21).

On these four couplers, the flow control mechanisms will be implemented on circuit states of the V24 junction (for example circuit
Request to Issue junction V24), or by exchanging specific characters (for example DCI or DC3 of the ASCII Code).

- a voice synthesis device and its interface (22), (23).

 To perform the various functions, use parameters located in the non-volatile RAM, which allows them to be stored in the event of a power failure on the device.

 These parameters are accessible and modifiable from one of the workstation devices as well as from another workstation or from a remote computer communicating with the device via the teletransmission network.

These parameters are used to define internal messages, external messages, exchange scenarios, conditions for executing these scenarios, transcoding, # modalities of flow control and management of workstation devices. The meaning of these various parameters is described below:
By internal message is meant a series of characters which will be sent from the memory of the device to the outside. An internal message will be defined by an identifier followed by a text.

 By external message is meant a series of characters coming from outside in the memory of the device where an external message will be defined by an identifier and by identification criteria making it possible to recognize the message by its content.

 By scenario is meant the description of the automatic and adaptive sequence of exchanges # between the device and the various connected devices including of course the remote transmission network.

 A scenario will be defined by an identifier and by a definition list. The definition list will be made up of a sequence of orders. Each order will be composed of an operating code followed by operands which in general will be identifiers of internal or external messages.

 The various operating codes will make it possible to carry out the following functions: sending the internal message of identifier N on device n0 P (network by default); sending on the device no. P of the message supplied by the device no. Q; acquisition and recognition of an external message 9 comparison with various external messages cited by their identifiers and execution of conditional connections as a function of the external message received; Unconditional jump n orders forward or backward; Dialing on the telephone line of the telephone number cited by its identifier and declared as an internal message; Connection with return in sequence and execution of the scenario cited by its identifier; Stop (abandonment) of the scenario. Normal end of the scenario.

In addition, the orders relating to flow control and the concealment or validation of certain workstation devices may be cited in the scenario definition list: these orders will be explained below.

 By scenario execution conditions is meant the definition of the moments when these adaptive exchange mechanisms between the device and the outside world will be engaged: this triggering will be possible at any time by an adequate order supplied from the various elements connected to the station of work (network included), the scenario to be executed will be cited by its identifier.

 The execution of a scenario on time condition will be possible. The conditions will be: all the time intervals T, either at such time or all T of such hour at such hour. It will also be possible to execute a scenario upon recognition of a given external message. Finally, the execution of a scenario can be operated from the combination in a Boolean formula of the trigger criteria defined above.

 Transcoding means the actions of transforming the characters of messages or signals that the device will perform on the information that it will receive or that it will transmit. These transcoding actions can be applied specifically to each of the devices connected to the device.

They can be defined in several ways - By specifying pairs formed on the one hand from the character or external message received by the device and on the other hand from the character or internal substitution message that the device must transmit to the outside.

It should be noted that at this level a character can be substituted for a message and vice versa. A message may be substituted for another message. The absence of a substitution message will cause the message not to be transmitted to the outside. All characters or messages not mentioned at this level will be transmitted as is by the device.

- By citing the algorithms describing the transformations to be made to the information passing through the device.

 The following algorithms can be used - Analysis and processing of the information flow passing through the device at the bit level so as to delete or add n bits every m bits.

This function can be triggered and stopped upon recognition of codes in the information flow, the values of these codes of n, m, addition or deletion information will be cited as parameters.

- Analysis of the dialing pulses transmitted by a telephone set connected directly to the device and transformation of these pulses in digital form (thus for example the dialing of the number zero on the dial of a telephone set communicating with the device via a conventional telephone link may be translated by the device's interpretation of the binary code representing the value zero in any alphabet,
ASCII for example. This transcoded information will be treated as an integral part of the flows entering the device and may in particular be used to trigger scenarios or be transmitted to other devices at the workstation or to the host computer. This facility will therefore allow the dial or the keys of a telephone set to play the same functional roll of data entry as that played by the keys on the keyboard of a terminal).

- Transcoding of digital information into numbering pulses with management of busy signals in accordance with current standardization.

This possibility will be automatically implemented by the numbering order cited in the description of scenarios section.

- Analysis and decomposition in phonetic form of the texts contained in the internal or external messages, coding of the various phonemes in binary form. The codes thus obtained can then be delivered to a voice synthesis device connected to the device or to a circuit ensuring this function and included on the device itself, all of these last three possibilities will allow a telephone set accessing the device to behave functionally as a terminal, the data inputs being made on the dial or the keys of the set, the results outputs arriving in voice form in the earpiece of the telephone handset.

 By flow control is meant: the actions taken by the device to prohibit or authorize the entry of information flows into the device as a function of the speed of emptying of this information on the elements connected to the device and for which this information is intended . This flow control mechanism will be implemented by observing the filling of a buffer memory managed in FIFO mode or by any other means. It will consist in managing for each device the state ready or not ready to receive as well as the orders of prohibition or authorization to issue, these states or orders will be defined in the form of parameters; for example PR = DSR will mean that the "ready to receive" state is detected by the "DATASET READY" signal from the V 24 junction; PR = DC1, will mean that the device is ready to receive when it sends the DCI character (XON of the ASCII code). All of the parameters defining these various states will be known by an identifier. For network entry, several flow control methods can be defined (indeed, flow control methods can be different from one network to another and from one host computer to another). setting up the adequate flow control mechanism could be judiciously used in the description of the scenarios so as to make possible the description of multi-network, multi-host exchange scenarios.

 By management methods of workstation devices is meant, In addition to the arrangements made for flow control, the definition of the procedures for concealing or validating these devices. This definition will firstly consist in specifying the validation and invalidation character sequences of the device in question. These sequences will be implanted in the non-volatile random access memory. Then the flow entering the device will be analyzed. Recognition of the validation sequence of a given device will cause the information received by the device to be sent to this device (as well as to all other devices validated at this time) until recognition in the information flow entering the device of the sequence provided for the invalidation of the device in question.

Claims (5)

 1 - Interface device for telematic workstations composed of the most diverse devices such as visuals, teletypewriters, videotex terminals, plotter readers of coordinates, telephone sets, consisting of a microcomputer comprising a Bus on which are arranged a microprocessor , read-only memory, volatile random access memory, non-volatile random access memory backed up by battery or accumulator, a device for dialing telephone numbers, voice synthesis, couplers allowing connection to the device of the various devices of the set and the connection of the device to the network. The device is characterized by the fact that it includes means for ensuring technical compatibility between the various devices of the workstation and the other downstream elements of the data processing system that are the transmission network. , the host computer and applications.  The device also includes means of solving the following ergonomic problems: complexity of the procedures for connecting a terminal to a computer, complexity of implementing certain applications, presence of computer background noise, need to store the various keys of a workstation their original functionality.  2 - Device according to claim No. 1 characterized in that its non-volatile memory allows it to implement the functions it provides by simply defining parameters.  3 - Device in accordance with claims n0 1 and n0 2 characterized in that it has means making it possible to define the parameters designated in claim n0 2, to consult them, to modify them dynamically by any device or computer connected to the these parameters are also retained even in the event of an indefinite power failure thanks to a saved memory.  4 - Device according to claims n0 1 and n0 2 characterized by. the fact that it has the means to automatically carry out the following actions defined by the parameters referred to in claim No. 2  - Preservation of internal messages;  - Recognition of external messages by analysis of their content - Execution of information exchange sequences between the various workstation devices and the network, the host computer and its application. These sequences consist in sending internal or external messages to recognize the external messages and in choosing and carrying out such or such other phase according to the external messages received. The organic structure of these sequences could be arbitrary (linear, tree-like or networked) . The execution of these sequences can be carried out on order from each of the elements connected to the device and likely to send information to it, either on receipt of an external message or according to a schedule (at such time, such time at such time, all the time intervals) .- Or finally on combination of these three stereotypes  - Transcoding of information passing through the device by substituting characters for messages, messages for characters, messages for messages; By adding or deleting bits to the information; By transformation in the form of binary codes, of the numbering pulses coming from a telephone set, by transformation of digital binary codes into numbering pulses on a telephone line, by phonetic analog # yse of texts and coding in the form of binary codes of the various phonemes composing the text.  - Control of incoming and outgoing flows of the device by analysis of codes or signals of occupation of the various devices ensuring the output flow and enslaving incoming flows to outgoing flows by sending codes or signals of authorization or prohibition of emission to the various devices ensuring the input flow.  - Dynamic routing of information entering and leaving the device on the various connected devices.  5 - Device according to the preceding claims having the means to solve the problems cited in claim no. 1 but also to execute remote control functions (written or voice); Automatic piloting of computers or any device managed by exchanging information with a workstation; Automatic appointment making of written or vocal appointments; Direct mailing of written or voice messages.