Multi-media interface
First Claim
1. A universal multi-media system interface for interfacing various communication networks with a multi-media messaging system that provides communications services to subscribers, comprising:
- parallel signal processors, each processor selectively processing in parallel messages in a particular communication format in accordance with a reconfigurable protocol conversion algorithm;
a line interface module connecting the multi-media interface to the various communications networks for dividing messages received over multiple communications links in the communications networks into frames, each frame including a plurality of time slots;
a time slot interchanger for receiving framed messages from the line interface module and selectively routing various time slots of information to one or more of the parallel signal processors; and
a supervisory processing unit for selectively downloading protocol conversion algorithms from the multi-media messaging system in real time into one or more of the parallel processors while continuing to process messages in another of the parallel processors to reconfigure the one or more of the parallel processors in real time to selectively perform protocol conversions on the selectively routed time slots, wherein the multi-media messaging system provides call processing services to subscribers using different types of communications media.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-media interface universally and flexibly supports present (and contemplated) messaging applications including voice mail, facsimile mail, electronic mail, interactive voice response, automated attendant surface services, audio text services, electronic messaging services, radio paging services, speech recognition/speech synthesis, DTMF tone detection, voice recognition, video messaging, video mail, interface of voice and data between the public switched telephone network (PSTN), the packet switched public data network (PSPDN), and mobile/portable telephone subscribers, e.g. cellular telephones and does so at a very high throughput. In order for the host messaging center to provide these services to subscribers communicating over the various communications networks, the multi-media interface makes the necessary protocol conversions for different telecommunications protocols corresponding to various types of telecommunications media (and associated control signalling) which may include, for example, speech in analog form, speech data in pulse code modulated (PCM) form, modem data in PCM digital form, data in analog form modulating sinusoidal carriers, and data in various digital forms associated with a variety of protocol standards. The multi-media interface includes a programmable line interface module and a time slot interchanger switch selectively routes various time slots of information to/from multiple parallel digital signal processors (DSPs), each with its own dual port, high speed RAM. A local central processing unit (CPU) controls and coordinates the line interface, time slot interchanger, and DSPs via a local bus in accordance with the host messaging center. The DSPs are reconfigurable in real time to selectively perform protocol conversions to/from the host'"'"'s processing and storage format for a wide variety of communications media. Each DSP can simultaneously process up to six digital communications channels so that a large number of multi-media subscribers can be served by the host messaging center in real time.
645 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A universal multi-media system interface for interfacing various communication networks with a multi-media messaging system that provides communications services to subscribers, comprising:
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parallel signal processors, each processor selectively processing in parallel messages in a particular communication format in accordance with a reconfigurable protocol conversion algorithm; a line interface module connecting the multi-media interface to the various communications networks for dividing messages received over multiple communications links in the communications networks into frames, each frame including a plurality of time slots; a time slot interchanger for receiving framed messages from the line interface module and selectively routing various time slots of information to one or more of the parallel signal processors; and a supervisory processing unit for selectively downloading protocol conversion algorithms from the multi-media messaging system in real time into one or more of the parallel processors while continuing to process messages in another of the parallel processors to reconfigure the one or more of the parallel processors in real time to selectively perform protocol conversions on the selectively routed time slots, wherein the multi-media messaging system provides call processing services to subscribers using different types of communications media. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A messaging system responsive to different types of communications media, comprising:
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a host messaging center for providing messaging services; a plurality of messaging subscribers sending messaging information over one or more communications networks using different subscriber communication protocol formats; and a multi-media interface connected to the host messaging center and the one or more communication networks, including; parallel processors for converting in parallel messaging information received in the different subscriber protocol formats into a host protocol format employed by the host messaging center and for converting messaging information in the host protocol format into corresponding different subscriber protocol formats, each parallel processor performing one of a plurality of different subscriber protocol conversions on messaging information to/from plural subscribers; a plurality of memories each memory being dedicated to one of the parallel processors; and a central processor connected to the plurality of memories, wherein information is transferred between each parallel processor and the central processor using the parallel processor'"'"'s dedicated memory. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A messaging system responsive to different types of communications media, comprising:
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a host messaging center for providing messaging services; a plurality of messaging subscribers sending messaging information over one or more communication networks using different subscriber communication protocol formats; and a multi-media interface, connected to the host messaging center and the communication networks, including parallel processors for converting in parallel messaging information in the different subscriber protocol formats into a host protocol format and for converting in parallel messaging information in the host protocol format into corresponding different subscriber protocol formats, wherein the host messaging center dynamically reconfigures the multimedia interface in real time, wherein the host messaging center configures the multi-media interface to perform selected protocol conversions using a software service table provided at the multi-media interface that correlates a subscriber communications channel with one or more call processing services and wherein one or more of the parallel processors performs protocol conversions in accordance with the software service table. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A messaging system responsive to different types of communications media, comprising:
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a plurality of messaging subscribers transmitting messaging information over one or more communications networks using different subscriber communication protocol formats; a host messaging center for providing messaging services to the subscribers; and a multi-media interface, connected to the host messaging center and the communication networks, including; parallel processors for converting messaging information in the different subscriber protocol formats into a host protocol format employed by the host messaging center in accordance with protocol conversion algorithms, each protocol conversion algorithm corresponding to one of the different subscriber protocol formats; parallel memories, each of the parallel processors being associated with one of the memories; and a central processor connected to the parallel memories and the host messaging center, wherein conversion algorithms are selectively loaded into each of the parallel processors by the central processor from the host messaging center using the associated memory and a different conversion algorithm is loaded in real time into one or more of the parallel processors in response to commands from the host messaging center. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification