Architecture and method for using an advanced intelligent network (AIN) to reduce voice switch and trunk loading

• US 6,501,753 B1
• Filed: 09/19/1996
• Issued: 12/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Corey, Douglas A., Lin, Kailih David, Behmer, Lawrence A.
• Primary Examiner(s): YAO, KWANG BIN
• Application Number:
  US08/715,985
• Time in Patent Office: 2,294 Days
• Field of Search: 370/351, 370/352, 370/353, 370/354, 370/355, 370/383, 370/389, 370/390, 370/392, 370/401, 370/408, 370/410, 370/466, 370/474, 370/537, 370/538, 370/539, 370/356, 379/90.01, 379/230, 379/219, 379/229, 379/201, 379/220, 379/88.17, 379/93.01
• US Class Current: 370/356
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0045 involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems

Abstract

Architecture and a method for reducing voice switch and trunk loading is disclosed. In one embodiment, a system for handling a voice frequency data call to a first termination telephone number associated with a service provider includes a first processor for recognizing and routing the voice frequency data call toward a data network via a first network modem and a converter for receiving the voice frequency data call from the first network modem and packetizing the voice frequency call into a packet switch call having at least a first packet transmittable toward the service provider via the data network interconnectable to the service provider. A method for handling such voice frequency data calls from a first person to a service provider includes the steps of recognizing the voice frequency data call corresponds to a service provider, processing at least the first termination telephone number to direct the routing of data in the voice frequency data call toward a data network, and processing the voice frequency data call to convert it to a packet switch call having at least a first packet transmittable toward the service provider via the data network.

Claims

1. A method for processing a voice frequency telephone call within a telephone network from at least a first person to a first termination telephone number associated with a first service provider, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving at a central office switch in the telephone network at least one voice frequency call, each including a terminating telephone number;

searching a database using the terminating telephone number to determine if the terminating telephone number is associated with a first termination telephone number for a first service provider;

based on the association of the termination telephone number of the first service provider, processing at least the first termination telephone number to direct the routing of the voice frequency call toward a data network via a first network modem; and

processing the voice frequency call to convert the at least one voice frequency call to a packet switch call having at least a first packet, wherein the first packet is transmittable toward the first service provider via the data network, the first service provider being interconnectable to the data network.

2. A method, as claimed is claim 1, wherein said recognizing step comprises the steps of:

receiving the at least one voice frequency call to the first termination telephone number via a first user modem; and

identifying the at least one voice frequency call corresponds to the first service provider.

3. A method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said processing at least the first termination telephone number step comprises the steps of:

generating a first message to request data corresponding to at least the first termination telephone number;

searching, in response to the first message, the database to retrieve data corresponding to at leas the first termination telephone number, the data being stored in the database; and

generating a second message to direct the routing of the at least one voice frequency call to the first service provider via at least the first network modem and the data network, the second message being based upon data retrieved during said searching step.

4. A method, as claimed in claim 3, wherein said generating the first message step is performed by an AIN trigger associated with an AIN capable switch.

5. A method, as claimed in claim 4, wherein the trigger for generating the first message is an Information Collected Trigger Detection Point.

6. A method, as claimed in claim 4, wherein at least the switch is located in one of an originating central office receiving the at least one voice frequency call from the first person and a central office interconnected to the originating central office.

7. A method, as claimed in claim 3, wherein said searching and said generating the second message steps are performed by a service control point associated with the database.

8. A method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said processing the at least one voice frequency call step comprises packetizing data in the voice frequency call from the first person to the packet switch call having at least the first packet.

9. A method, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising before said processing the voice frequency call step, the step of:

routing the at least one voice frequency call toward the data network via the first network modem.

10. A method, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising after said processing the at least one voice frequency call step, the step of:

transmitting at least the first packet toward the first service provider via the data network.

11. A method, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

delivering at least the first packet to the first service provider.

12. A method, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

depacketizing at least the first packet from the first person to convert the packet switch call back to a voice frequency call; and

delivering data from the converted voice frequency call from the first person to the first service provider.

13. A method, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

depacketizing at least the first packet from the first person into at least a first data string corresponding to the first person; and

delivering at least the first data string to the first service provider via a second modem associated with the first service provider and a T-1 line.

14. A method, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

multiplexing at least the first packet from the first person with a first packet from a second person communicating with one of the first service provider and a second service provider, wherein the first packet from the second person is transmittable toward the one of the first and second service providers via the data network.

15. A method for establishing within a telephone network communication between at least a first modem user and a first service provider via a first voice frequency modem call initiated by the first modem user to a first termination telephone number associated with the first service provider, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving at a central office switch within the telephone network at least one voice frequency call, wherein each of the at least one voice frequency calls includes a terminating telephone number;

searching a database using the terminating to determine if the terminating telephone number is associated with a first service provider;

retrieving a first set of information associated with a first terminating telephone number of the first service provider concerning routing of the at least one voice frequency call, wherein the first set of information corresponds to the first service provider;

based on the processing of the first termination telephone number, routing the first voice frequency modem call toward a data network via a first network modem;

processing the first voice frequency modem call from the first modem user to convert the first frequency modem call to a first packet switch call having at least a first packet; and

transmitting at least the first packet toward the first service provider via the data network, wherein the first service provider is interconnectable to the data network.

16. A method, as claimed in claim 15, wherein said retrieving a first set of information comprises the steps of:

receiving the first voice frequency modem call to the first termination telephone number via a first user modem associate d with the first modem user;

generating a first message having a query to request data corresponding to the first termination telephone number;

searching, based upon the query, a database to retrieve data corresponding to at least the first termination telephone number, the data being stored in the database; and

generating a second message having at least one instruction concerning routing of the first voice frequency modem call to the first network modem, the instruction being based upon data retrieved during said searching step.

17. A method, as claimed in claim 16, wherein said generating the first message step is performed by a trigger associated with an Advanced Intelligent Network capable switch.

18. A method, as claimed in claim 16, wherein said searching and generating the second message steps are performed by a service control point associated the database.

19. A method, as claimed in claim 15, wherein said processing the first voice frequency modem call step comprises the step of packetizing the first voice frequency modem call into the first packet switch call having at least the first packet, the first packet being transmittable toward the first service provider via the data network.

20. A method, as claimed in claim 15, wherein a second modem user initiates, via a second user modem, a second voice frequency modem call to one of the first and a second termination telephone number associated with the first service provider, said method further comprising the steps of:

processing the one of the first and second termination telephone numbers to retrieve a second set of information concerning routing of the second voice frequency modem call, wherein the second set of information corresponds to the first service provider;

routing the second voice frequency modem call toward the data network via a second network modem;

processing the second voice frequency modem call from the second modem user to convert the second voice frequency modem call to a second packet switch call having at least a first packet; and

transmitting at least the first packet from the second packet switch call toward the first service provider via the data network.

21. A method, as claimed in claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

multiplexing at least the first packets from first and second packet switch calls for transmittance toward the first service provider via the data network.

22. A method, as claimed in claim 15, further comprising the step of performing one of first and second steps, wherein said first step comprises the steps of depacketizing at least the first packet from the first modem user to convert the packet switch call back to a voice frequency modem call and delivering the converted voice frequency modem call to the first service provider, wherein said second step comprises depacketizing at least the first packet from the first modem user into at least a first data string corresponding to the first modem user and delivering at least the first data string to the service provider via a second modem associated with the first service provider and a T-1 line.

23. A method, as claimed in claim 15, wherein a second modem user initiates, via a second user modem, a second voice frequency modem call to a second termination telephone number associated with a second service provider, said method further comprising the steps of:

processing the second termination telephone number to retrieve a second set of information concerning routing of the second voice frequency modem call, wherein the second set of information corresponds to the second service provider;

routing the second voice frequency modem call toward the data network via a second network modem;

processing the second voice frequency modem call from the second modem user to convert the second voice frequency modem call to a second packet switch call having at least a first packet;

multiplexing at least the first packets from the first and second packet switch calls; and

transmitting at least the first packets from the first and second packet switch calls toward the first and second service providers via the data network.

24. A system for a telephone network which automatically directs identified voice frequency calls a first service provider, said system comprising:

at least one central office switch for receiving at least one voice frequency call wherein the central office switch is further configured to identify a terminating telephone number associated with the at least one voice frequency call and to search a database to identify information associated with the terminating telephone number, the database is configured to include at least a first terminating telephone number for a first service provider, which is provided upon detection of a first voice frequency call which includes the first terminating telephone number;

first processing means for receiving and routing the first voice frequency call toward a data network via a first network modem;

converting means, interconnected to said first processing means, for receiving the first voice frequency call from said first network modem and packetizing the first voice frequency call into a first packet switch call having at least a first packet, said first packet of said first packet switch call being transmittable toward the first service provider via the data network interconnecting the first service provider and said converting means.

25. A system, as claimed in claim 24, wherein said switch comprises an AIN capable switch capable of matching the first termination telephone number with the first service provider.

26. A system, as claimed in claim 24, wherein said first processing means comprises:

receiving means for generating at least a first message having a query corresponding at least to the first termination telephone number; and

second processing means, interconnected to said receiving means, for retrieving from a database information in response to the first message, wherein said database is associated with said second processing means.

27. A system, as claimed in claim 26, wherein said receiving means comprises an AIN capable switch having an AIN trigger capable of at least generating said first message.

28. A system, as claimed in claim 26, wherein said second processing means comprises a service control point for retrieving information corresponding to the first termination telephone number from said database associated with said service control point and for instructing said receiving means to route the first voice frequency call to said first network modem.

29. A system, as claimed in claim 24, wherein said first network modem is located in a central office associated with said first processing means.

30. A system, as claimed in claim 24, wherein said converting means comprises a packet assembler interconnected to said data network.

31. A system, as claimed in claim 24, wherein said data network is a packet switched data network selected from the group consisting of a wide area network, a metropolitan area network, an Ethernet, a frame network, an asynchronous transfer mode network, an internet protocol network and a switch multimegabit data service network.

32. A system, as claimed in claim 24, further comprising:

depacketizing means, associated with said data network, for converting at least said first packet into at least a first data string corresponding to the first modem user, said first data string being deliverable to the first service provider via a first service provider modem associated with the first service provider and a T-1 line.

33. A system, as claimed in claim 24, further comprising:

depacketizing means, associated with said data network, for converting at least said first packet back into a voice frequency call, said converted voice frequency call being deliverable to the first service provider via a first service provider modem at a point of presence of the first service provider.

34. A system, as claimed in claim 24, further comprising:

multiplexing means, associated with said converting means, for multiplexing said first packet from said first packet switch call and a first packet from a second packet switch call for transmittance to at least one of the first service provider and a second service provider, wherein said converting means is capable of packetizing a second voice frequency call from a second modem user into the second packet switch call having at least the first packet.