Service node for a telephony network
First Claim
1. A service node for use in a communications network for providing a service, the service node comprising:
- a plurality of peripheral devices;
switching means for connecting said peripheral devices to external communication means of said communications network for receiving calls made by callers to a service provided by the service node;
control processing means operable to generate a scan pattern representative of a plurality of individual patterns of characters corresponding to respective service commands relating to service options available to a caller, wherein said caller may originate any of said service commands during a call; and
distributed processing means operable to;
receive the scan pattern from the control processing means;
monitor signals received from said caller during said call for the presence of signaling information representative of characters;
convert such signaling information received from said caller into resulting characters;
perform pattern matching, of the resulting characters with said plurality of individual patterns; and
upon the occurrence of a match with any of said plurality of individual patterns, to supply to said control processing means information identifying the corresponding service command.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Service node for use in a communications network for providing access to services available to callers using the network. The service node includes a plurality of peripheral devices, a switch for connecting the peripheral devices to external communication links of the communications network for receiving calls made by callers to access a service provided by the service node; a control processor operable to generate a scan pattern representative of a plurality of individual patterns of characters corresponding to respective service commands relating to service options available to a caller, wherein the caller may originate any of the service commands during a call, and a distributed processing system. The distributed processing system is operable to receive the scan pattern from the control processor, monitor signals received from the caller during a call for the presence of signaling information representative of characters; convert the signaling information into resulting characters; perform pattern matching of the resulting characters with the individual patterns; and upon the occurrence of a match with any of the individual patterns, to supply to the control processor with information identifying the corresponding service command.
92 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A service node for use in a communications network for providing a service, the service node comprising:
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a plurality of peripheral devices; switching means for connecting said peripheral devices to external communication means of said communications network for receiving calls made by callers to a service provided by the service node; control processing means operable to generate a scan pattern representative of a plurality of individual patterns of characters corresponding to respective service commands relating to service options available to a caller, wherein said caller may originate any of said service commands during a call; and distributed processing means operable to; receive the scan pattern from the control processing means; monitor signals received from said caller during said call for the presence of signaling information representative of characters; convert such signaling information received from said caller into resulting characters; perform pattern matching, of the resulting characters with said plurality of individual patterns; and upon the occurrence of a match with any of said plurality of individual patterns, to supply to said control processing means information identifying the corresponding service command. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of operating a communications service at a service node connected to a communications network, said method comprising the steps of:
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receiving at the service node, via the communications network, a call made by a caller in connection with a service provided by the service node; defining, on a control processing means, a scan pattern representative of a plurality of individual patterns of characters corresponding to respective service commands relating to service options available to the caller, wherein said caller may originate any of said service commands during said call; downloading, to distributed processing means distributed in a switching means, said scan pattern and an identification of said call; monitoring, by said distributed processing means, for signals received from said caller during said call for the presence of signaling information representative of caller-originated characters; converting such signaling information received from said caller into resulting characters; pattern matching said resulting characters with said plurality of individual patterns; and upon the occurrence of a match between said resulting characters with any one of said plurality of individual patterns, supplying to said control processing means information identifying a corresponding service command. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A service node in a communications network for providing access to an available service, said service node comprising:
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a switch connected to said communications network for receiving calls made by callers to a service provided by the service node; a control processor operable to provide a plurality of character patterns corresponding to respective service commands, said service commands relating to respective service options available to a caller during a call; and a distributed processing system operable to; receive said plurality of character patterns from said control processor; monitor signals received from said caller during said call for signaling information representative of characters; convert said signaling information received from said caller into resulting characters; comparing said resulting characters with said plurality of character patterns; and supplying to said control processor information identifying a corresponding service command when a match is found between said resulting characters and one of said plurality of character patterns. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A method of operating a communications service at a service node connected to a communications network, said method comprising the steps of:
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receiving at the service node a call made by a caller in connection with a service provided by the service node; defining a plurality of character patterns corresponding to respective service commands relating to service options available to the caller during said call; providing said plurality of character patterns to a distributed processing system in said node; using said distributed processing system to monitor signals received from said caller during said call for the presence of signaling information representative of characters; converting said signaling information received from said caller into resulting characters; attempting to match said resulting characters with one of said plurality of character patterns; and identifying a corresponding service command upon the occurrence of a match between said resulting characters and one of said plurality of character patterns. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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Specification