Method to provide caller's location in IP phone system, optical transmission system, optical connector, and optical network unit

• US 20050286893A1
• Filed: 06/29/2005
• Published: 12/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KDDI Corporation
• Original Assignee: KDDI Corporation
• Inventors: Edagawa, Noboru, Horiuchi, Yukio
• Granted Patent: US 7,551,854 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 398/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/1694 Allocation of channels in TDM/TDMA networks, e.g. distributed multiplexers Passive Optical Networks H04Q11/0062
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation

Abstract

To inform a location of a caller to the other party in an IP phone system, a wireless IC tag preserving unique ID information is attached to an optical connector of a user connection port. The relations between locations of the optical connectors and ID information of corresponding wireless IC tags are stored in a port control database. An IC tag reader in an optical network unit (ONU) reads the ID information in the wireless IC tag attached to the optical connector to which the ONU is connected. When an emergency call is initialed, the ONU transmits destination information of the emergency call and the ID information of the wireless IC tag to a central station. A control terminal in the central station compares the ID information of the wireless IC tag against the port control database to determine a location of the optical connector. The central station adds the determined location information to the destination information of the emergency call and transmits the information to an IP network.

Claims

1. A method for determining a caller'"'"'s location in an IP phone system comprising:

storing relation between at least one user connection port to which an IP phone is connected and a corresponding location of the user connection port in a port control information file;

transmitting a connection request signal to a central station when a call is initiated from the IP phone, the connection request signal including destination information and port ID information of the user connection port to which the IP phone is connected; and

determining a location of the user connection port to which the IP phone is connected by comparing the port ID information with the port control information file in the central station when the connection request signal of the call is transmitted to an IP network.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising detecting port ID information of the user connection port to which the IP phone is connected to store the detected information before the IP phone originates the call.

3. An optical transmission system having a central station connected to an IP network, a plurality of user units, each having an IP phone, and an optical transmission line connecting between the central station and the plurality of user units, the system comprising:

a plurality of optical connectors, each optical connector disposed at one of a plurality of user connection ports of the optical transmission line to which the plurality of user units are connected respectively, each optical connector having an identification medium with unique port identification information;

a plurality of optical network units, each optical network unit (ONU) disposed in one of the plurality of user units to connect to a respective one of the optical connectors, and having a reader to read out the port ID information stored in the identification medium of the optical connector, to transmit a connection request signal including destination information and the port ID information to the central station when the IP phone originates a call;

a port control information file to store relations between the port ID information preserved in the identification mediums of the optical connectors attached to the respective user connection ports and corresponding locations of each of the optical connectors; and

a repeater disposed in the central station to detect, when the user unit transmits the connection request signal for the call, a location of the optical connector to which the IP phone originating the call is connected by checking the port ID information against the port control information file and to send the information indicating the detected location and the destination information to the IP network.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the identification medium comprises a wireless IC tag.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein the reader reads the port ID information in the identification medium when a respective ONU including the IP originating the call is turned on and a link between the ONU and the central station is to be established.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein the call comprises an emergency call.

7. The system of claim 3 wherein:

the repeater comprises an optical line terminal (OLT) connected to the optical transmission line and the IP network, and a control terminal, wherein

the OLT transmits a connection request signal for the call to the control terminal and

the control terminal determines a location of the optical connector to which the IP phone of the call is connected by checking the port ID information included in the connection request signal against the port control information file and instructs the OLT to transmit the information indicating the determined location and the destination information to the IP network.

8. An optical connector comprising an identification medium having identification information readable externally.

9. The optical connector of claim 8 wherein the identification medium is embedded in the frame of the optical connector.

10. The optical connector of claim 8 wherein the identification medium comprises a wireless IC tag.

11. The optical connector of claim 8 wherein the optical connector is disposed at a user connection port in the optical network.

12. An optical network comprising:

an identification medium having unique port ID information disposed at each of a plurality of user connection ports to which a user unit is connectable;

an optical network unit connected to each of the plurality of user connection ports for communicating with a center station through optical transmission line;

an optical transmitter/receiver to transmit/receive optical signals to/from the central station through respective user connection port;

a reader to read the port ID information stored in the identification medium; and

a controller to command the optical transmitter/receiver to transmit a connection request signal including destination information and the port ID information to the central station when an IP phone originates a call.

13. The optical network unit of claim 12 wherein the identification medium comprises a wireless IC tag.

14. The optical network unit of claim 12 wherein the reader comprises means for reading the port ID information in the identification medium when the optical network unit is turned on and when a link with the central station is to be established through the optical transmission line.

15. The optical network unit of claim 12 wherein the call comprises an emergency call.

16. A method for determining a caller'"'"'s location in an IP phone system comprising:

storing ID information for a respective one of a plurality of user connectors on the respective user connector;

initiating a call from an IP phone in a user network unit;

receiving call information, ID information for the user connector to which the user network is connected, and ID information of the user network by a central station;

storing the ID information for the plurality of user connectors and ID information for a plurality of user networks in a database accessible by the central station; and

comparing the received information with the information stored in the database to determine the location of the IP phone.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising reading the ID information for the respective user connector for transmission to the central station when the call is initiated.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising indicating a status signal if the ID information for the respective user connector cannot be properly read.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the ID information for each of the plurality of user connectors is stored in a tag embedded in a plug frame on the respective user connector.

20. The method of claim 16 further comprising transmitting the determined location of the IP phone to an OP network.