Method and apparatus for providing voice signals to and from a telecommunications switch

• US 6,512,764 B1
• Filed: 07/16/1999
• Issued: 01/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Genband US LLC (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Bandwidth, Inc.
• Inventors: Mills, Brendon W., Carew, A. J. Paul, Lutz, Ronald D. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Olms, Douglas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Phunkulh, Bob A.
• Application Number:
  US09/356,250
• Time in Patent Office: 1,292 Days
• Field of Search: 370/351, 370/352, 370/353, 370/354, 370/355, 370/356, 370/476, 370/400, 370/401, 709/238, 379/88.17
• US Class Current: 370/356
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/561 Star, e.g. cross-connect, concentrator, subscriber group equipment, remote electronics
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5619 Network Node Interface, e.g. tandem connections, transit switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5671 Support of voice
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/105 ATM switching elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/062 using different frequency bands for speech and other data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0066 Details of access arrangements to the networks where the access arrangement is a PSTN/ISDN access H04M7/122
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13039 Asymmetrical two-way transmission, e.g. ADSL, HDSL
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13093 Personal computer, PC
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13196 Connection circuit/link/trunk/junction, bridge, router, gateway
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13296 Packet switching, X.25, frame relay
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13298 Local loop systems, access network
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0045 involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems

Abstract

A voice gateway (64) includes an input port (70) that receives a voice signal from an unbundled analog line (62) coupled to a Class 5 switch (52). The voice signal is converted to a digital format by an analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converting unit (76). The voice signal is placed into a compressed format by a compressing/decompressing unit (80) using a selected one of a plurality of compression ratios. The voice signal is placed into a transport frame by a packetizing/depacketizing unit (84) according to a selected packet format. The voice signal is multiplexed with other voice signals by an output port (88). The output port (88) places the voice signal onto a selected one of a plurality of output lines in order to transport the voice signal in its transport frame to one of an office customer premises (12) and a residence customer premises (14).

Claims

1. An apparatus for communicating voice information, comprising:

an input port operable to receive a plurality of voice signals from one of a plurality of unbundled analog lines;

an analog-to-digital converter unit operable to convert the plurality of voice signals into a plurality of digital signals;

a packetizing unit operable to generate digital packets encapsulating the plurality of digital signals, the packetizing unit including a plurality of packetizers, each packetizer operable to convert the plurality of digital signals into digital packets according to different packet standards;

a switching matrix operable to selectively provide the digital signals to the plurality of packetizers, the packetizing unit operable to generate packets for successive voice signals with different packet standards; and

an output port operable to pass the digital packets to a customer premises interface for communication to a customer premises.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the input port is further operable to provide an electrical termination of the unbundled analog lines.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the input port is further operable to couple to a Class 5 switch through the plurality of unbundled analog lines without using an overlay Class 5 switch or digital loop carrier architecture.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a compressing unit operable to compress the plurality of digital signals, the compressor unit including a plurality of compressors, each compressor operable to compress the plurality of digital signals according to a different compression standard.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the compressing unit performs voice compression according to a G.711 , G.722, or G.726 standard.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a switching matrix operable to selectively provide the digital signals to the plurality of compressors, the compressor unit operable to generate compressed digital signals for successive voice signals with different compression standards.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the packetizing unit generates the digital packets according to an Internet Protocol (IP), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), or Frame Relay standard.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the output port is further operable to interleave digital packets corresponding to two or more voice signals.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the output port is further operable to pass the digital packets to a selected one of a plurality of output lines according to a destination characteristic of the voice signal.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the customer premises interface is a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM).

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the customer premises interface is operable to communicate digital packets corresponding to at least twenty-four voice signals to the customer premises using a single output line.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the customer premises interface is operable to communicate the digital packets in a local loop using a digital subscriber line.

13. A method of communicating voice information using a voice gateway coupled to unbundled analog lines of a telecommunications switch, comprising:

receiving a plurality of voice signals from a plurality of the unbundled analog lines of the telecommunications switch;

converting the plurality of voice signals into a plurality of associated digital signals;

selecting via a switching matrix one of a plurality of different packet standards for each of the plurality of digital signals;

generating digital packets from the plurality of digital signals according to the packet standard selected for each of the plurality of digital signals; and

passing the digital packets to a customer premises interface for communication to a customer premises.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising providing an electrical termination of the unbundled analog lines using the voice gateway.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the telecommunications switch is a Class 5 switch; and

the voice gateway couples to the Class 5 switch without using an overlay Class 5 switch or digital loop carrier architecture.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising compressing the plurality of digital signals prior to generating the digital packets.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining one of a plurality of different compression techniques for each of the plurality of digital signals;

selecting a compressor to perform the determined compression technique for each of the plurality of digital signals; and

compressing each of the plurality of digital signals using the selected compressor.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising generating the digital packets according to an Internet Protocol (IP), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), or Frame Relay standard.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein communicating the digital packets further comprises interleaving digital packets corresponding to two or more voice signals.

20. The method of claim 13, further comprising passing the digital packets to a selected one of a plurality of output lines according to a destination characteristic of the voice signal.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein the customer premises interface is a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM).

22. The method of claim 13, wherein the customer premises interface is operable to communicate digital packets corresponding to at least twenty-four voice signals to the customer premises using a single output line.

23. The method of claim 13, wherein the customer premises interface is operable to communicate the digital packets in a local loop using a digital subscriber line.

24. A system for communicating voice information, comprising:

a telecommunications switch operable to receive voice signals from a telephone network and to communicate the voice signals using a plurality of unbundled lines;

a voice gateway coupled to the telecommunications switch, the voice gateway operable to receive the voice signals using the unbundled lines, the voice gateway operable to process the voice signals into digital packets according to different packet standards individually determined and selected for each voice signal, the voice gateway including a switching matrix to route each voice signal according to its selected packet standard; and

a customer premises interface coupled to the voice gateway and operable to receive the digital packets from the voice gateway and to communicate the digital packets to a customer premises using an output line.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein:

the customer premises interface is further operable to receive digital packets from the customer premises using the output line and to communicate the digital packets to the voice gateway;

the voice gateway is further operable to receive the digital packets from the customer premises interface, the voice gateway operable to identify the packet standard for each digital packet, the voice gateway operable to process the digital packets into voice signals suitable for communication to the telecommunications switch using the unbundled lines; and

the telecommunications switch is further operable to receive the voice signals from the voice gateway using the unbundled lines and to communicate the voice signals to the telephone network.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the voice gateway is further operable to provide an electrical termination of the unbundled lines.

27. The system of claim 24, wherein:

the telecommunications switch is a Class 5 switch; and

the voice gateway couples to the Class 5 switch without using an overlay Class 5 switch or digital loop carrier architecture.

28. The system of claim 24, wherein the voice gateway processes the voice signals into digital packets according to an Internet Protocol (IP), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), or Frame Relay standard.

29. The system of claim 24, wherein the voice gateway communicates the digital packets to the customer premises interface by interleaving digital packets corresponding to two or more voice signals.

30. The system of claim 24, wherein the voice gateway communicates the digital packets to the customer premises interface using one or more packet switches.

31. The system of claim 24, wherein the customer premises interface is operable to communicate digital packets corresponding to at least twenty-four voice signals to the customer premises using the output line.

32. The system of claim 24, wherein the output line is a digital subscriber line operable to communicate the digital packets to the customer premises using a twisted pair in a local loop.

33. The system of claim 24, wherein the customer premises interface is a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM).

34. The system of claim 24, further comprising an Integrated Access Device (IAD) coupled to the customer premises interface, the IAD operable to receive the digital packets using the output line and to process the digital packets to provide voice information to telephony devices or computing devices at the customer premises.

35. The system of claim 24, wherein the unbundled lines are Integrated Services Digital Network Basic Rate Interface lines.

47. The method of claim 30, wherein the unbundled lines are Integrated Services Digital Network Basic Rate Interface lines.

36. A method of communicating voice information, comprising:

receiving, at a telecommunications switch, voice signals from a telephone network;

communicating the voice signals from the telecommunications switch to a voice gateway using multiple unbundled lines;

receiving the voice signals at the voice gateway using the unbundled lines;

selecting one of a plurality of different compression standards for each voice signal;

performing compression of each voice signal according to its selected compression standard;

selecting one of a plurality of different packet standards for each voice signal;

processing each of the voice signals into digital packets according to its selected packet standard;

communicating the digital packets from the voice gateway to a customer premises interface; and

communicating the digital packets from the customer premises interface to a customer premises using an output line.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

receiving, at the customer premises interface, return digital packets from the customer premises using the output line;

communicating the return digital packets from the customer premises interface to the voice gateway;

identifying a packet standard for each of the return digital packets;

processing each of the return digital packets into return voice signals suitable for communication to the telecommunications switch using the unbundled lines according to its identified packet standard;

identifying a compression standard for each return voice signal;

decompressing each of the return voice signals according to its identified compression standard;

communicating the return voice signals to the telecommunications switch using the unbundled lines; and

communicating the return voice signals from the telecommunications switch to the telephone network.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising providing an electrical termination of the unbundled lines using the voice gateway.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein:

the telecommunications switch is a Class 5 switch; and

the voice gateway couples to the Class 5 switch without using an overlay Class 5 switch or digital loop carrier architecture.

40. The method of claim 36, further comprising processing the voice signals into digital packets according to an Internet Protocol (IP), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), or Frame Relay standard.

41. The method of claim 36, wherein communicating the digital packets from the voice gateway to the customer premises interface further comprises interleaving digital packets corresponding to two or more voice signals.

42. The method of claim 36, wherein communicating the digital packets from the voice gateway to the customer premises interface is performed using one or more packet switches.

43. The method of claim 36, further comprising communicating digital packets corresponding to at least twenty-four voice signals from the customer premises interface to the customer premises using the output line.

44. The method of claim 36, wherein:

the output line is a digital subscriber line; and

communicating the digital packets from the customer premises interface to the customer premises further comprises using the digital subscriber line to communicate the digital packets over a twisted pair in a local loop.

45. The method of claim 36, wherein the customer premises interface is a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM).

46. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

receiving the digital packets at an Integrated Access Device (IAD) using the output line; and

processing the digital packets to provide voice information to telephony devices or computing devices at the customer premises.