ITRM960457A1 - TECHNIQUE OF MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE OF TELEPHONE SERVICES IN LOCAL MOBILITY - Google Patents

Description

Description of the invention entitled:

"TECHNIQUE OF MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE OF TELEPHONE SERVICES IN LOCAL MOBILITY

DESCRIPTION

The invention generally deals with the management techniques of services inherent to wireless telephone equipment and more particularly it deals with a technique for managing and carrying out the service that is provided to the user, equipped with a wireless terminal according to the European ETSI standard. -DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) with GAP profile (Generic Access Profile) and holder of a subscription to a fixed line, with the possibility of using one's own wireless telephone as well as at home even in a public environment, outside of the coverage range of the "domestic" base, in the areas covered by the service.

At the state of the art, in Europe, are known techniques for managing telephone services in local mobility according to the DECT standard mentioned above, or other similar ones which, however, have the great limit of covering extremely small territorial areas and being disconnected from the service. basic telephone. In fact, the various service management systems are based on the use of a wireless switchboard which by itself is not able to control more than a certain limited number of wireless devices, consequently also the managed area. done, it is limited. In this type of management, therefore, no information exchange function between switchboards is envisaged, which allows the user to switch continuously from one coverage area to another.

In Japan, a local mobile telephone service is provided that allows the use of the wireless telephone both in a "home" environment and in a public environment, in a territorial area that covers entire cities. But beyond the completely different access standards (DECT in Europe and PHS in Japan), the service management technique implemented by the Japanese companies also has different performance and operating characteristics from those in question. First of all, in order to use the service also in an urban public environment, the user of the Japanese system must in any case use a prefix indicative of an inter-district telephone call, similarly to what happens for mobile radio services. Therefore, the service offered by Japanese companies is not presented to the user as an extension of the service relating to the fixed line, that is, in other words, it is not an enrichment of services linked to a domestic user.

Furthermore, intercom calls are not provided for in this type of service and can be made through terminal services, using a frequency different from the public one and within a limited range (about 200 m between the two terminals).

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a technique for the management and execution of telephone services in local mobility that allows the user of the wireless telephone to use the same not only at his own home but also in a public environment in the areas covered by the service of the urban network, based only on the number associated with the fixed line, thus constituting the local mobile service in fact an extension of the complex of services already available with the fixed telephone.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a technique for managing and performing telephone services in local mobility, such that the service is implemented in the public sphere over a fairly extensive territory such as that of entire cities.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique for managing and carrying out telephone services in local mobility in which the current additional functions of the telephone service on a fixed line are integrated, with an authentication service of the admission codes.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a technique for the management and execution of services in local mobility in which the coverage over the entire territory concerned allows an exchange of transmitting / receiving station in the passage of the user from a coverage cell to a other. Finally, the object of the present invention is to provide a technique for managing and performing telephone services in local mobility such that the service can be implemented using exchanges, protocols and in general hardware / software tools already existing within the public telephone network.

These and other purposes which will be evident in the course of the description are achieved by means of a technique for managing and carrying out telephone services in local mobility characterized by the fact of interfacing the wireless telephone set supplied to the user with localized transceiver devices distributed uniformly over the entire the coverage area involved in the service, being said transceiver devices located, and each connected, with a specific telephone exchange which in turn is equipped with hardware / software support to manage the exchange of information and the conversation with the individual localized devices. The telephone exchanges communicate the information received from the devices located to a service control point, comprising a database of the users admitted to the service and a code authentication center.

The execution and management of telephone services in local mobility according to the present invention in a series of possible configurations of the service provided allows to:

- make / receive calls from wireless terminals in the public area only in the areas covered by the urban subscription network of the corresponding fixed line;

make calls from a wireless terminal in a public area in all covered areas, even those other than those of the urban subscription network of the corresponding fixed line, and receive calls only in the areas covered by the urban subscription network of the aforementioned fixed line; and

- making / receiving calls from wireless terminals in public areas in all areas covered, even those other than those of the urban subscription network of the corresponding fixed line.

For the sole purpose of example and without thereby having to limit in any way the scope of validity and the possible fields of extension of the invention, a detailed description of an implementation configuring the management of a network with telephone services in local mobility is given below. which allows you to make / receive calls from wireless terminals in the public area only in the areas covered by the urban subscription network of the corresponding fixed line, with reference to the attached Figures in which:

Fig. 1 shows the general network architecture;

Fig. 2 shows the diagram relating to the management of an incoming call; and

Fig. 3 shows the diagram relating to the function of continuous updating of the localization of the terminal.

Fig. 1 shows how the interposition of the system implementing the management of the fixed telephone network services is actually carried out between the wireless telephone 2 and the fixed line or the specific "domestic" area 1. It results from this as the communication with the wireless telephone 2 is first of all interfaced with localized devices 3 ', 3 ", ... 3 <n> transceivers which are uniformly distributed throughout the territory on which the local mobile service according to the present invention is to be managed. In Fig. 1 from a graphic point of view it is also highlighted, how the coverage areas A and B overlap in order to provide good continuity in the exchange of the transceiver stations, when the wireless telephone passes from one area to another .

The single devices, 3 ', 3 ", ... 3 <n>, uniformly located within the territory to be covered are in fact grouped from a functional point of view, to be interconnected by means of a normal telephone cable with a specific control panel 4' , 4 <M>, .., 4 <m> in each of which there is a functional support block to manage the intelligent communication and the switching with the single localized devices 3 ', 3 "... 3 <n> themselves .

Already at this level the innovative feature is evident that the wireless telephone does not communicate directly with the "home" base, but interfaces with the local telephone exchange, which has been equipped with hardware / software tools to implement the switching function for service. The management and execution of the service in local mobility therefore makes use of connections 4-5 already in use for the normal activity of the basic fixed network, with a service control point 6, to which a database is associated , which among other things stores in real time the territorial location of each wireless device, and the code authentication center, for the control of the access code of the terminal to the requested service - in this way the possibility of illegal access is limited the use of the telephone service in local mobility -.

It should be noted how in fact on an already established and tested infrastructure such as that relating to the fixed network, additional functions are arranged that allow on the one hand to add new types of services to be offered to users and on the other to confer security and reliability to the users. new services created, precisely because they refer to network infrastructures, already tested for some time.

The general procedure for implementing the service provides that calls that are not answered by landline 1 within a certain number of seconds, or that are answered by landline 1 but are intended for the owner of the wireless telephone in a public environment, they will be rerouted to the wireless phone itself. The transfer after the answer from the fixed line is carried out on the instruction of the user who answers from the same.

If the owner of the wireless telephone, at the time of rerouting, is out of coverage, or even if it is outside the urban network managed in local mobility, has the terminal off, does not answer or is busy, the calls are automatically transferred to an associated voicemail box. to the landline number. The notification of the presence of any new messages recorded in the voicemail is forwarded both to the landline and to the wireless telephone that benefits from public coverage.

The management and performance of these services on local mobile devices can be better understood, referring to Fig. 2, if the network functions involved in the treatment of a call to a telephone managed in local mobility are examined in detail. For the user 11 who dials the number of a local mobile telephone 18 there is first the interconnection with the central XI of his telephone area, then, through the path 12, making the "home" telephone 24 to be called ring, the possibility that the called user is at home and answers is first assessed; otherwise, through the path 13 the data base of node 6 is queried to obtain the current location of the called apparatus, and under which public area / telephone exchange X3 it can be found. The node 6 through the path 15, asks the X3 central station for a fictitious number in its equipment, which is supplied to the X2 departure central from where it is used to route the calls through the 17 path, to the X3 central which recognizes it as a number for a local mobile user activates the corresponding point 3 <X> closest to the called local mobile device.

A call procedure by the user with a mobile device in local mobility is intuitively similar to the one described above for the call to the user in local mobility. It should only be noted that the node 6 for a call from the user with a wireless device in local mobility would previously exercise the function of controlling the access code to the service.

On the other hand, it is more interesting to describe the function of continuous updating of information relating to the territorial location of the various users admitted.

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates the passage of the wireless device 21 from an area covered by the control unit XI, with the localization group 3 "which detects the presence of the device 21 itself, to an area covered by the control unit X3 with the location 3 'that intervenes in the detection: when there is the passage from the area of the control unit XI to the zone of the control unit X3, the information contained in the data base of node 6 is updated through the paths 22, 23 dislocation of the telephone set 21, and loading of the terminal profile information from node 6 to station X3.

Still for the purpose of example only, and certainly not limiting, a detailed description of the basic services offered by the management and performance of telephone services in local mobility according to the present invention is given below.

For clarity and conciseness, the following abbreviations will be referred to below: CM: Cordless Mobility

STC: Centralized Telephone Secretariat Customer CM Customer subscriber of the CM service

CM Line: Fixed line to which the CM service is associated

CM number: Number associated with the CM line. Urban network CM: Urban network identified by the number. CM terminal: DECT standard wireless terminal (GAP profile) suitably initialized to be used also in a public environment. Domestic base: Private transceiver station connected to the CM line.

The CM terminal can take advantage of both the coverage of the public network (public profile) and the coverage of the home base associated with it (home profile). From the point of view of the terminal, the profile change can be carried out automatically by the terminal itself with priority on the domestic base and / or with other automatic or manual modes depending on the terminal.

1. Incoming calls to the CM line

All calls directed to the CM number are routed to the CM line, regardless of the location and state in which the CM terminal is located. When the CM terminal is registered in a public environment:

- Incoming calls, to the CM line that are answered, can be transferred on the indication of the called user, to the CM terminal;

- Incoming calls to the CM line that are not answered after a certain time are automatically routed to the CM terminal after the forwarding of a free announcement that informs the calling user that the call is about to be transferred to the CM terminal;

- During the forwarding of the announcement, the CM line continues to receive the call current to give the called party time, if he is at home, to answer;

-If an incoming call to the CM line is answered during the forwarding of the announcement, the announcement is interrupted and communication is established.

When the CM terminal is registered in a home environment:

- If the STC feature is in the active state, the incoming calls to the CM line which, following the occurrence of the "Free No Answer" condition, are not answered after a certain time, are automatically routed to the voicemail associated with the CM number.

- In all other cases, incoming calls to the CM line are treated as a direct call to a fixed line not provided with the CM service.

2. Management of incoming calls to the CM terminal registered in a public environment

It is possible to receive calls, on the CM terminal registered in a public environment, only if the latter is in a covered area of the CM urban network.

In the case of the "Free" CM terminal, the dial tone is forwarded to the calling user; in the case of an intercom call made from a CM line and a "Busy" CM terminal, the busy tone is forwarded to the calling user.

In the case of an intercom call made from a CM line, if, following routing to the CM terminal, the latter is outside the CM urban network or, even if there is, is out of coverage, off or "Free Does Not Answer", the calls are automatically routed to the voicemail associated with the CM number.

In the case of a non-intercommunicating call if, following routing to the CM terminal, the latter is outside the CM urban network or, even if there is, is out of coverage, off, "Free Does Not Answer" or "Busy", the call is automatically routed to the voicemail associated with the CM number.

3. Management of calls originating from the CM line

An outgoing call is made from the CM line according to the normal procedures envisaged for a non-CM fixed line attested terminal, regardless of the type of registration of the CM terminal and, if the latter is registered in a public environment by the state in which it is located.

4.Management of calls originating from the CM terminal in a public environment

An outgoing call is made from the CM terminal in a public environment, by selecting the telephone number you wish to call from your CM terminal, as long as the call originates within an area covered by the CM urban network and is compatible with the associated service profile to the user.

It is possible to make outgoing calls from the CM terminal in a public environment in the CM urban network regardless of the state of the CM line.

In the event that the CM customer tries to originate, from the CM terminal, a call in a covered area not belonging to the CM urban network, an announcement is sent that will inform the calling user that it is not possible to make outgoing calls because he is outside. of the CM urban network.

5. Management of the intercom function

When the CM terminal is registered in a public environment:

- A call from the CM line to the CM terminal and from the CM terminal in the area covered by the CM urban network, to the CM line, is activated by selecting an appropriate code / key.

- Calls generated by activating the intercom function are characterized at the destination (CM terminal or CM line) by a different call ring.

- It is not possible to originate calls from the CM line to the CM terminal and vice versa by selecting the CM number.

When the CM terminal is registered in a home environment:

- it is not possible to originate intercom calls from the CM line to the CM terminal and vice versa with the methods described above and valid only in the case of the CM terminal registered in a public environment.

- The management of intercom calls when the terminal is registered in a domestic environment depends on the domestic base associated with the CM terminal.

6. Management of the on-line transfer function When the CM terminal is registered in a public environment:

- The incoming calls to the CM line that are answered can be transferred to the CM terminal upon indication of the called user.

- The on-line transfer function is activated from the CM line, during the conversation phase, by selecting an appropriate code / key.

- Towards the CM line, after the activation of the on-line transfer function, an announcement is sent informing you of the imminent transfer of the call, followed by the congestion tone. When the CM terminal is registered in a home environment, the on-line transfer function cannot be activated.

7. Centralized answering machine management When the CM terminal is registered in a public environment:

- The STC service associated with the CM service is always in the active state.

- A direct call to a CM number, and subsequently routed to the CM terminal, is automatically transferred to the voicemail associated with the CM number when one of the following conditions occurs:

- CM terminal off / out of coverage;

- CM terminal within a covered area but outside the CM urban network;

- CM terminal within a covered area of the CM urban network which does not respond within a certain time;

- CM terminal within a covered area of the CM urban network and "Busy" (only in the case of non-intercommunicating calls).

When the CM terminal is registered in a home environment:

- The CM customer, by means of an appropriate interactive procedure, carried out by the CM line, can:

a) activate / deactivate the STC service;

b) query the status of the STC.

- The default state of the STC will be the active one. - A direct call to a CM number is automatically transferred to the voicemail associated with the CM number if the STC feature is in the active state and only if the call is not answered within a certain time.

- Carrying out the above procedures, when the CM terminal is registered in a public environment, has no effect on the STC performance which will always be in the active state.

- When a CM terminal registered in a public environment is registered in a domestic environment, the status of the STC is assumed to be the one set by the customer before the last registration of the terminal in a public environment.

The notification of new recorded messages present in the voicemail box associated with the CM number is carried out by sending a modified central tone on going off hook, both to the CM line and to the CM terminal registered in a public environment in the covered area even beyond outside the urban network CM.

Optional services are described below which are preferably specifically requested when subscribing to the CM service or with subsequent request by the CM user.

A - Unconditional routing to the CM terminal registered in a public environment

By means of an appropriate procedure carried out from the CM line, the user has the possibility to activate a function that allows to route all the calls directed to the CM number that would otherwise be routed to the CM line to the CM terminal registered in a public environment.

When the CM terminal is registered in a public environment, if the unconditional routing function to the CM terminal is in the active state, the calls directed to the CM line are automatically routed to the CM terminal after forwarding a free announcement to the calling user.

When the unconditional routing service is active, a particular tone will be forwarded upon release from the CM line; the unconditional routing feature is automatically deactivated upon registration of the CM terminal in the home environment.

The unconditional routing service can also be deactivated by means of an appropriate procedure carried out by the CM line.

B - Disabling

The CM user can request, through the management procedure, the disabling / enabling of outgoing calls from the CM terminal registered in a public environment to international destinations and according to the disabling classes provided for POTS users.

C- Self-disabling

The CM user can, through an interactive procedure carried out by the CM line or by the CM terminal registered in a public environment, choose to disable / enable outgoing calls from the CM terminal registered in a public environment according to the same types of barriers indicated in the previous paragraph.

In conclusion, the CM service is a service associated with the fixed line which is configured as a performance evolution of the fixed line itself.

The service allows you to make telephone calls from the wireless terminal in a public environment, as long as it is in the covered area of the CM urban network, for any urban, long-distance and international destination.

The degree of mobility offered allows a call to / from a wireless terminal in a public environment to be kept active when the latter is moving at pedestrian speed.

The service will initially be made available on certain urban networks. Coverage will be continuously ensured in urban areas (all main streets, squares, etc.) as well as in confined areas with a high traffic density, and of particular interest for the attractiveness of the service. Later it can be extended over wider territories.

Claims (13)

CLAIMS 1. Technique for managing and carrying out telephone services in local mobility characterized by interfacing the wireless telephone set supplied to the user with localized transceiver devices (3 ', 3 "... 3 <n>) distributed over the entire the coverage area involved in the service, since said localized transceiver devices are connected, each, with a specific telephone exchange (4 ', ... 4 <m>) and since each control unit is equipped with hardware / software support to manage the exchange of information and the conversation with the individual localized devices, and communicating the telephone exchanges, the information received from the devices located to a service control point (6), including a database of the users admitted to the service and a code authentication center . 2. Technique for managing and carrying out telephone services in local mobility according to the preceding claim characterized by the fact that for the user who dials the number of a telephone in local mobility there is first the interconnection with the telephone exchange to which the line belongs fixed by the user CM, and, by making the telephone connected to it ring, the possibility that the called user is on site and answers is first evaluated; and if this is not the case, the data base of the node (6) is queried to obtain the current location of the called device, and under which public area / telephone exchange it can be found, by asking the node (6), a fictitious number from the arrival center in its equipment, which is then supplied to the departure exchange from where it, belonging to the urban landline subscription network, is used to route the call to the arrival center which, recognizing it as a number for local mobile users, activates the corresponding transceiver points closest to the called local mobile device. 3. Technique for managing and carrying out telephone services in local mobility according to the preceding claims characterized by the fact that the calls which are not answered by the fixed line within a certain number of seconds, or which are answered by the fixed line, but are intended for the owner of the wireless telephone that is in a public environment, are re-routed to the wireless telephone itself and that the transfer, after the answer from the fixed line is carried out on the instructions of the user who answers from the same. 4. Technique for managing and performing telephone services in local mobility according to the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that it allows making / receiving calls from a wireless terminal in the public sphere only in the areas covered by the urban subscription network of the corresponding fixed line. 5. Technique for managing and carrying out telephone services in local mobility according to claims 1, 2 and 3 characterized by the fact of allowing calls to be made from wireless terminals in the public area in all covered areas, even those other than those of the urban network subscription of the corresponding fixed line, and that calls are received only in the areas covered by the urban subscription network of the aforementioned fixed line. 6. Technique for managing and performing telephone services in local mobility according to claims 1, 2 and 3 characterized by the fact that it is possible to make / receive calls from a wireless terminal in the public area in all the covered areas, even those other than those of the urban subscription network for the corresponding fixed line. 7. Technique for managing and carrying out telephone services in local mobility according to claims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 characterized by the fact that in the event that the owner of the wireless telephone, at the time of rerouting, is out of coverage or out of urban network of subscription of the corresponding fixed line, has the terminal off, does not answer or is busy, the calls are automatically transferred to a voicemail associated with the landline number, being the notification of the presence of any new messages recorded in the forwarded voicemail box both to the fixed line and to the wireless telephone that benefits from public coverage. 8. Technique for managing and carrying out telephone services in local mobility according to claims 1, 2, 3, and 6 characterized by the fact that in the event that the owner of the wireless telephone, at the time of rerouting is out of coverage, has the terminal switched off, does not answer or is busy, calls are automatically transferred to a voicemail associated with the landline number, being the notification of the presence of any new messages recorded in the voicemail box forwarded to both the landline and the wireless phone that benefits from coverage public. 9. Technique for managing and performing telephone services in local mobility according to the preceding claims, characterized in that with the passage of the wireless device in active condition from an area covered by a central to the area covered by another central telephone, there is the updating of the information contained in the data base of the node (6) relating to the location of the telephone set, and the loading of the terminal profile information from the node (6) to the current station. 10. Technique for managing and performing telephone services in local mobility according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the interconnection of the localized transceiver devices with the corresponding telephone exchanges takes place via cable. 11. Technique for managing and performing telephone services in local mobility according to the preceding claims, characterized in that communications and switching within the fixed network take place through already existing network infrastructures. 12. Technique for managing and performing telephone services in local mobility according to the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that communications and switching within the fixed network take place through network infrastructures designed for the purpose. 13. Technique for managing and carrying out telephone services in local mobility according to the preceding claims characterized by the fact that the code authentication center in the service control node (6) performs the control of the user's access code to the requested service , for each incoming call.