Broadband communications access device

• US 20010030950A1
• Filed: 01/31/2001
• Published: 10/18/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zhigu Holdings Limited
• Original Assignee: Aeptech Microsystems Incorporated
• Inventors: Wang, Ray, Chen, Steven Chien-Young
• Granted Patent: US 7,382,786 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2812 describing content present in a home automation network, e.g. audio video content retrieval from the Internet G06F16/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2834 Switching of information between an external network and a home network access arrangements H04L12/2856
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2838 Distribution of signals within a home automation network, e.g. involving splitting/multiplexing signals to/from different paths adaptations of television systems for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution H04N7/106; hybrid transport H04L12/6418; home network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/56 Packet switching systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2845 Telephone line
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5615 Network termination, e.g. NT1, NT2, PBX
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5663 Support of N-ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2535 adapted for voice communication over an Internet Protocol [IP] network Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network equipment and services H04M7/006; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/725 Cordless telephones user interfaces specially adapted therefor H04M1/724
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0478 Provisions for broadband connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/00 Local resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A integrated phone-based home gateway system is disclosed. The integrated phone-based home gateway system includes a broadband communication device, such as digital subscriber line (“DSL”) device, an analog modem, a wireless interface, integrated into a screen-phone for providing broadband communication service to home users. Multiple home users are able to access the Internet and the content services for conducting e-commerce, receiving content news, entertaining on-demand, making audio or video communications, and telecommuting or working at home. This screen-phone based, modular, plug-n-play home gateway interface allows in-home as well as to-home networking, provides automatic data and broadband initialization, configuration and service provisioning, routing and bridging functionality and allows resource sharing among home devices via the existing phone wire, wireless, coaxial or optical cable connections.

Claims

1. An integrated phone-based home gateway system providing in-home and to-home networking, comprising in combination:

a home gateway interface for initializing broadband communications service configurations and provisions, initializing data communications parameters and for providing routing or bridging for networking communications;

a communications interface for connecting to one or more networks, for providing data communications, for providing broadband communications and for providing narrow-band communications including voice communications;

a processor for processing information from the one or more networks;

a display interface for displaying the information from the one or more networks; and

a wireless communications interface for connecting to external wireless devices.

2. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

, further comprising a portable multi-function handset.

3. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

, wherein the portable multi-function handset performs the function of at least one of a cordless phone, a mobile phone, a web phone, or a walkie-talkie radio.

4. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

, wherein the communication interface includes a speaker-phone.

5. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

, wherein the communication interface includes a digital subscriber line (“

DSL”

) device and an analog modem.

6. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 5

, wherein the DSL device includes an asymmetric digital subscriber line (“

ADSL”

) device, symmetric DSL (“

SDSL”

) device, high-bit-rate DSL (“

HDSL”

) device or very-high-bit-rate (“

VDSL”

) device.

7. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

, wherein the communication interface includes voice communications using Plain Old Telephone Service (“

POTS”

) or Voice over Internet Protocol (“

VoIP”

) channels.

8. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

, further comprising:

at least one module for interfacing with an external device.

9. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 8

, wherein the external device includes a desk-top computer, lap-top computer, notebook computer, a home security device, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a Internet Protocol-based home appliance, a printer, a facsimile machine, a video camera, or a scanner.

10. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 8

, wherein the at least one module for interfacing with an external device includes an RJ-11 module, a peripheral component interconnect (“

PCI”

) module, a Universal Serial Bus (“

USB”

) module, a home phoneline network adapter (“

HPNA”

) module, a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (“

PCMCIA”

) interface module, a Bluetooth module, an infra data association (“

IrDA”

) module, or a wireless interface module.

11. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

, further comprising one or more modular plug-and-play interfaces.

12. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

, wherein the display interface comprises a removable display unit.

13. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 12

, wherein the removable display unit interfaces with the home gateway interface through a wireless infrared or a wireless radio frequency communications interface.

14. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

, wherein the display interface displays and accesses voice, video and data messages.

15. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 14

wherein the data messages include Internet Protocol messages or e-mail messages.

16. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

wherein the display interface displays a graphical representation of a keypad.

17. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

, wherein the display interface displays at least one line of real-time stock quote, weather, headline news, community news, or a electronic address information from the Internet.

18. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

, further comprising a keypad.

19. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 18

wherein the keypad is a graphical representation of a key pad on the display, a numeric key pad, an alpha-numeric key pad or a keyboard.

20. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

, further comprising a video camera.

21. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

wherein the one or more networks include a public switched telephone network, a regional broadband network, or the Internet.

22. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

wherein the wireless communication interface includes an infrared or radio frequency wireless communication interface.

23. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

wherein the wireless communication interface includes a Bluetooth protocol based interface a Shared Wireless Access Protocol based interface or a Wireless Application Protocol based interface.

24. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

wherein the wireless communication interface includes a short-range wireless communication interface for connecting to external wireless network devices on a wireless piconet.

25. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

wherein the wireless communication interface includes a long-range wireless communication interface for connecting to external wireless network devices on a wireless wide area network.

26. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 22

wherein the wireless communication interface includes a long-range and a short-range radio frequency wireless communication interface.

27. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 1

, further comprising a computer readable medium having stored therein a plurality of computer software modules with a plurality of instructions executable by the processor, including:

a session manager module for controlling an information session from the one or more networks, controlling a service manager module, controlling an interface manager module, controlling a display manager module and for automatically populating routing and bridging tables and providing routing or bridging for networking communications;

a service manager module for controlling the communications interface and the wireless communication interface, and initializing broadband communications service configurations and provisions and initializing data communications parameters;

an interface manager module for controlling interface modules to external devices; and

a display manager module for controlling the display interface and the display of information from the one or more networks.

28. An integrated phone-based home gateway system providing in-home and to-home networking, comprising in combination:

a home gateway interface for initializing broadband communications service configurations and provisions and for providing routing or bridging for networking communications;

a communications interface for connecting to one or more networks, wherein the communications interface includes a digital subscriber line (“

DSL”

) device and an analog modem;

a processor for processing information from the one or more networks;

a removable display unit for displaying the information from the one or more networks for accessing and displaying voice, video or data messages;

a key pad for entering alpha-numeric data;

a home phone line network adapter (“

HPNA”

) module;

a Bluetooth module for interfacing with wireless devices using the Bluetooth wireless protocol;

a portable multi-function wireless handset for performing cordless phone, a mobile phone, a web phone, or walkie-talkie radio functions;

one or more short-range or long-range wireless interfaces for interfacing with external wireless devices;

one or more RJ-11 interface jacks;

at least one modular plug-and-play interface for interfacing with other external devices; and

an optional video camera for sending and receiving video data to and from the one or more networks.

29. The integrated phone-based home gateway system of

claim 28

, further comprising a computer readable medium having stored therein a plurality of computer software modules with a plurality of instructions executable by the processor, including:

a session manager module for controlling an information session from the one or more networks, controlling a service manager module, controlling an interface manager module, controlling a display manager module and for automatically populating routing and bridging tables and providing routing or bridging for networking communications;

a service manager module for controlling the communications interface and the wireless communication interface, and initializing broadband communications service configurations and provisions and initializing data communications parameters;

an interface manager module for controlling interface modules to external devices; and

a display manager module for controlling the display interface and the display of information from the one or more networks.

30. In integrated phone-based home gateway system conversion system for connecting to existing phone systems, providing in-home and to-home networking, comprising in combination:

a home gateway interface for initializing broadband communications service configurations and provisions and for providing routing or bridging for networking communications;

a communications interface for connecting to one or more networks, for providing data communications, for providing broadband communications and for providing narrow band communications including voice communications;

a processor for processing information from the one or more networks;

a wireless communications interface for connecting to external wireless devices;

a home phone line network adapter (“

HPNA”

) module; and

one or more RJ-11 interface jacks.

31. The integrated phone-based home gateway system conversion system of

claim 30

, further comprising a computer readable medium having stored therein a plurality of computer software modules with a plurality of instructions executable by the processor, including:

a session manager module for controlling an information session from the one or more networks, controlling a service manager module, controlling an interface manager module, controlling a display manager module and for automatically populating routing and bridging tables and providing routing or bridging for networking communications;

a service manager module for controlling the communications interface and the wireless communication interface, and initializing broadband communications service configurations and provisions and initializing data communications parameters;

an interface manager module for controlling interface modules to external devices; and

a display manager module for controlling the display interface and the display of information from the one or more networks.

32. A method for initializing an integrated phone-based home gateway system, comprising:

establishing one or more narrow-band communications channels with a public switched telephone network from the integrated phone-based home gateway system;

establishing one or more broadband communications channels with a public switched telephone network from the integrated phone-based home gateway system;

initializing a data communications interface for a data network from the integrated phone-based home gateway system;

initializing routing or bridging tables on integrated phone-based home gateway system; and

initializing broadband communications service configurations and provisions from the integrated phone-based home gateway system.

33. The method of

claim 32

further comprising computer readable medium having stored therein instructions for causing a processor to execute the steps of the method.

34. The method of

claim 32

wherein the step of establishing one or more narrow-band communications channel includes establishing a plain old telephone service (“

POTS”

) channel or a Voice-over-Internet Protocol (“

VoIP”

) channel.

35. The method of

claim 32

wherein the step of establishing one or more broadband communications channels includes establishing an asymmetric digital subscriber line (“

ADSL”

), symmetric DSL (“

SDSL”

), high-bit-rate DSL (“

HDSL”

), very-high-bit-rate DSL (“

VDSL”

) or an asynchronous transport mode (“

ATM”

) channel.

36. The method of

claim 32

wherein the step of initializing a data communications interface for a data network from the home gateway interface includes initializing an Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) interface.

37. The method of

claim 32

wherein the step of initializing broadband communications service configurations and provisions via the home gateway interface includes initializing asymmetric digital subscriber line (“

ADSL”

), symmetric DSL (“

SDSL”

), high-bit-rate DSL (“

HDSL”

) very-high-bit-rate DSL (“

VDSL”

) or asynchronous transport mode (“

ATM”

) service configurations and provisions.