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

• US 7,551,854 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2005
• Issued: 06/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: KDDI Corporation
• Original Assignee: KDDI Corporation
• Inventors: Edagawa, Noboru, Horiuchi, Yukio
• Primary Examiner(s): Bello; Agustin
• Application Number:
  US11/172,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20050286893A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,455 Days
• Field of Search: 398 66- 72
• US Class Current: 398/72
• 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. 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 coupled 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 one of the plurality of user units is connected respectively, each optical connector having an identification medium for storing unique port identification (ID) 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 first connection request signal including destination information and the port ID information to the central station, when a respective IP phone originates a predetermined call, and to transmit a second connection request signal including the destination information and not including the port ID information to the central station, when the respective IP phone originates a call other than the predetermined call;

a port control information file to store relations between the port ID information stored 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 first connection request signal for the predetermined call, a location of the optical connector to which the IP phone originating the predetermined call is connected by checking the port ID information against the port control information file, and to send information indicating the detected location and the destination information to the IP network.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the identification medium comprises a wireless IC tag.

3. The system of claim 1 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.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the call comprises an emergency call.

5. The system of claim 1 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 predetermined call to the control terminal and

the control terminal determines a location of the optical connector to which the IP phone originating the predetermined call is connected by checking the port ID information included in the first 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.

6. An optical network comprising:

an identification medium for storing unique port ID information and 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 central station through an 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 first connection request signal including destination information and the port ID information to the central station,when an IP phone originates a predetermined call, and to transmit a second connection request signal including the destination information and not including the port ID information to the central station, when the IP phone originates a call other than the predetermined call.

7. The optical network of claim 6 wherein the identification medium comprises a wireless IC tag.

8. The optical network of claim 6 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.

9. The optical network of claim 6 wherein the predetermined call comprises an emergency call.

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

storing identification (ID) information for a plurality of user connectors;

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

receiving call information, the ID information for the user connector to which the user network unit is connected, and ID information of the user network unit by a central station, when the call from the IP phone is a predetermined call;

receiving the call information and the ID information of the user network unit by the central station, when the call from the IP phone is not the predetermined call;

storing the ID information for the plurality of user connectors and ID information for a plurality of user network units 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, when the call from the IP phone is the predetermined call.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising reading the ID information for the respective user connector for transmission to the central station when the call is initiated.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising indicating a status signal if the ID information for the respective user connector cannot be properly read.

13. The method of claim 10 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.

14. The method of claim 10 further comprising transmitting the determined location of the IP phone to an IP network.