Method for transmitting data in a telecommunications network and switch for implementing said method

• US RE44,011 E1
• Filed: 01/26/2011
• Issued: 02/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sigram Schindler Beteiligungsgesellschaft Mbh (Sigram Schindler, PhD)
• Original Assignee: Sigram Schindler Beteiligungsgesellschaft Mbh (Sigram Schindler, PhD)
• Inventors: Schindler, Sigram, Paetsch, Frank, Ilig, Andreas, Luedtke, Karsten
• Primary Examiner(s): Qureshi, Afsar M.
• Application Number:
  US13/014,557
• Time in Patent Office: 755 Days
• Field of Search: 370252-465, 379/93.01, 379/207.13
• US Class Current: 370/395.21
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6427 Subscriber Access Module; Concentrator; Group equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6443 Network Node Interface, e.g. Routing, Path finding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6472 Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6475 N-ISDN, Public Switched Telephone Network [PSTN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 29/06 characterised by a protocol
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5025 by proactively reacting to service quality change, e.g. by reconfiguration after service quality degradation or upgrade
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/30 Routing of multiclass traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4228 in networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0057 Services where the data services network provides a telephone service in addition or as an alternative, e.g. for backup purposes, to the telephone service provided by the telephone services network
• 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: H04Q 11/0428 Integrated services digital network, i.e. systems for transmission of different types of digitised signals, e.g. speech, data, telecentral, television signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13031 Pulse code modulation, PCM
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13174 Data transmission, file transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13175 : Graphical user interface [GUI], WWW interface, visual indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13196 : Connection circuit/link/trunk/junction, bridge, router, gateway
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13209 : ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13292 : Time division multiplexing, TDM
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13298 : Local loop systems, access network
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13389 : LAN, internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/002 : Details

Abstract

A method for transferring data from a first switch to a second switch selectively by line-switching or by packet-switching as wellas to a switch for carrying out the method. Data packets are thereby first transferred packet-switched through a packet-switching network to the second switch. With the presence of a corresponding control signal a line-switching connection is established from the first switch to the second switch and the data are then transferred through this connection. Where applicable a renewed changeover to a packet-switching transfer is carried out. A flexible packet-switching or line-switching data transfer linked with dynamic costs between the junctions of a telecommunications network is enabled.

Claims

1. Switching apparatus for selectively routing a telephone call between a first end terminal and a second end terminal by switching data packets of said telephone call originating from a respective end terminal to either a mobile phone packet switching network with wireless access or a line switching network, said networks being either WAN or LAN networks, the data packets to be switched by the apparatus containing information identifying the respective origin and destination end terminals of said telephone call, the apparatus comprising for this routing:

a) a device that provides access by said switching apparatus to a mobile phone packet switching network providing wireless access through which data packets can be sent for delivery to a destination end terminal;

b) a device that provides access by said switching apparatus for establishing a line-switched connection through a line switching network through which data can be sent for delivery to a destination end terminal; and

c) a control device responsive to a control signal for changing-over, during the call set-up procedure for said telephone call, from a packet switching to a line switching transfer of data without interruption of the call set-up procedure for said telephone call.

2. The switching apparatus of claim 1, wherein said line switching network is a mobile network also has wireless access.

3. The switching apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second end terminals comprises a mobile wireless network access communication device.

4. The switching apparatus of claim 3, wherein said switching apparatus is located in said mobile wireless network access communication device.

5. A mobile communication device, comprising a switching apparatus as set forth in claim 1.

6. Switching apparatus for selectively routing a telephone call between a first end terminal and a second end terminal by switching data packets of said telephone call originating from a respective end terminal to either a mobile phone packet switching network with wireless access or a line switching network, said networks being either WAN or LAN networks, the data packets containing information identifying the respective origin and destination end terminals of said telephone call, the apparatus comprising for this routing:

a) a device that provides access by said switching apparatus to a mobile phone packet switching network providing wireless access through which data packets can be sent for delivery to a destination end terminal;

b) a device that provides access by said switching apparatus for establishing a line-switched connection through a line switching network through which data can be sent for delivery to a destination end terminal; and

c) a control device responsive to a control signal for changing-over, during existence of the communication connection for said telephone call, from a mobile phone packet switching to a line switching transfer of data through the respective network without interruption of the communication connection for said telephone call.

7. The switching apparatus of claim 6, wherein said line switching network is a mobile network also has wireless access.

8. The switching apparatus of claim 6, wherein at least one of said first and second end terminals comprises a mobile wireless network access communication device.

9. The switching apparatus of claim 8, wherein said switching apparatus is located in said mobile wireless network access communication device.

10. A mobile communication device, comprising a switching apparatus as set forth in claim 6.

11. Switching apparatus for selectively routing a telephone call between a first end terminal and a second end terminal by switching data packets of said telephone call originating from a respective end terminal to either a mobile phone packet switching network with wireless access or a line switching network, said networks being either WAN or LAN networks, the data packets containing information identifying the respective origin and destination end terminals of said telephone call, the apparatus comprising for this routing:

a) a device that provides access by said switching apparatus to a mobile phone packet switching network providing wireless access through which data packets can be sent to a switch for delivery to said destination end terminals;

b) a device for providing a line-switched connection to said switch through a line switching network through which data packets can be sent for delivery to said destination end terminals; and

d)c) a control device responsive to a control signal for changing-over, during the call set-up procedure for said telephone call, from a packet switching to a line switching transfer of data to said switch without interruption of the call set-up procedure for said telephone call.

12. The switching apparatus of claim 11, wherein said line switching network is a mobile network also has wireless access.

13. The switching apparatus of claim 11, wherein at least one of said first and second end terminals comprises a mobile wireless network access communication device.

14. The switching apparatus of claim 13, wherein said switching apparatus is located in said mobile wireless network access communication device.

15. A mobile communication device, comprising a switching apparatus as set forth in claim 11.

16. Switching apparatus for selectively routing a telephone call between a first end terminal and a second end terminal by switching data packets of said telephone call originating from a respective end terminal to either a mobile phone packet switching network with wireless access or a line switching network, said networks being either WAN or LAN networks, the data packets containing information identifying the respective origin and destination end terminals of said telephone call, the apparatus comprising for this routing:

a) a device that provides access by said switching apparatus to a mobile phone packet switching network providing wireless access through which data packets can be sent to a switch for delivery to said destination end terminals;

b) a device for providing a line-switched connection to said switch through a line switching network through which data packets can be sent for delivery to said destination end terminals; and

c) a control device responsive to a control signal for changing-over, during existence of the communication connection for said telephone call, from a packet switching to a line switching transfer of data to said switch without interruption of the communication connection for said telephone call.

17. The switching apparatus of claim 16, wherein said line switching network is a mobile network also has wireless access.

18. The switching apparatus of claim 16, wherein at least one of said first and second end terminals comprises a mobile wireless network access communication device.

19. The switching apparatus of claim 18, wherein said switching apparatus is located in said mobile wireless network access communication device.

20. A mobile communication device, comprising a switching apparatus as set forth in claim 16.

21. A method for transferring data of a call selectively by line switching or by packet switching from a mobile wireless network access communication device to a switch, the mobile wireless network access communication device and the switch being part of or having access to the same mobile wireless network access line-switching network and the same mobile packet switching network with wireless access, comprising:

a) packetizing data into data packets in the mobile wireless network access communication device if the data does not yet exist as data packets;

b) transferring the data packets from the mobile wireless network access communication device through the mobile packet-switching network providing wireless access to the switch;

c) checking whether a control signal exists for changing-over from the packet-switching data transfer of the data packets through said mobile packet switching network to a line-switching connection through said mobile packet switching network to the switch;

d) establishing the line-switching connection through said mobile wireless network access line-switching network to the switch in response to said control signal, if the line-switching connection is not yet present; and

e) changing-over from packet-switching data transfer of data packets through said mobile packet switching network to a line-switching data transfer in response to said control signal and transferring data over said mobile wireless network access line switching network to the switch, without interrupting a communications connection for a call under establishment or already established by the transfer of data for the call.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said mobile wireless network access communication device comprises a radiotelephone.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein said data comprises signalling data.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein said data comprises audio data.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein said data comprises video data.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein said data comprises application data.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein said mobile wireless network access line-switching network is a GSM network or a CDMA network.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein data transferred via said GSM or CDMA network may be packetized or non-packetized.

29. A method for transferring data selectively by line switching or by packet switching from a mobile wireless network access communication device to a switch, the mobile wireless network access communication device and the switch being part of or having access to a mobile wireless network access line-switching network and a mobile packet switching network with wireless access, the switch being a server of another packet-switching network and part of or having access to another line-switching network, comprising:

a) packetizing data into data packets in the mobile wireless network access communication device if the data does not yet exist as data packets;

b) transferring the data packets from the mobile wireless network access communication device through said mobile packet-switching network providing wireless access to the switch;

c) checking whether a control signal exists for changing-over from the packet-switching data transfer of the data packets through said packet switching networks to a line-switching data transfer through said line switching networks to the switch;

d) establishing a line-switching connection through said line-switching network to the switch in response to said control signal, if the line-switching connection is not yet present; and

e) changing-over from the packet-switching transfer of the data packets through said packet-switching network to a line-switching data transfer in response to said control signal and transferring data over the line switching connection to the switch.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein said mobile wireless network access communication device comprises a radiotelephone.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein said data comprises signalling data.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein said data comprises audio data.

33. The method of claim 29, wherein said data comprises video data.

34. The method of claim 29, wherein said data comprises application data.

35. The method of claim 29, wherein said mobile wireless network access line-switching network is a GSM network or a CDMA network.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein data transferred via said GSM or CDMA network may be packetized or non-packetized.

37. A method for transferring data selectively by line switching or by packet switching from a first mobile wireless network access communication device to a second mobile wireless network access communication device, both being part of or having access to a mobile wireless network access line-switching network and a mobile packet switching network with wireless access, said wireless network access line-switching mobile network either being the same for each mobile wireless network access communication device or being associated with one mobile wireless network access communication device and interconnected to a mobile wireless network access line-switching network associated with the other mobile wireless network access communication device, and said packet-switching mobile network either being the same for each mobile wireless network access communication device or being associated with one mobile wireless network access communication device and interconnected to a packet-switching network associated with the other mobile wireless network access communication device, comprising:

a) packetizing data into data packets in the first mobile wireless network access communication device if the data does not yet exist as data packets;

b) transferring the data packets from the first mobile wireless network access communication device to the second mobile wireless network access communication device through the mobile packet-switching network associated with said first mobile wireless network access communication device, and through the mobile packet-switching network associated with said second mobile wireless network access communication device;

c) checking whether a control signal exists for changing-over from the packet-switching data transfer of the data packets through at least one of said one packet switching networks to a line-switching data transfer through said line switching networks to the second communication device;

d) establishing a line-switching connection through (at least one of) said line-switching networks to the second communication device in response to said control signal, if the line-switching connection is not yet present; and

e) changing-over from the packet-switching transfer of the data packets through said packet-switching networks to a line-switching data transfer in response to said control signal and transferring data over the line switching connection to the second communication device.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein said mobile wireless network access communication device comprises a radiotelephone.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein said data comprises signalling data.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein said data comprises audio data.

41. The method of claim 37, wherein said data comprises video data.

42. The method of claim 37, wherein said data comprises application data.

43. The method of claim 37, wherein said mobile wireless network access line-switching network is a GSM network or a CDMA network.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein data transferred via said GSM or CDMA network may be packetized or non-packetized.

45. Switching apparatus for routing a telephone call from a first end terminal to a second end terminal, selectively by line switching or packet switching, the switching apparatus comprising:

means for establishing a connection through a line-switching network to the second end terminal;

means for line-switching transferring data received from the first end terminal over the line-switching network to the second end terminal;

means for establishing a connection through a mobile packet-switching network to the second end terminal;

means for packet-switching transferring data received from the first end terminal over the mobile packet-switching network to the second end terminal; and

means responsive to a control signal for transferring to a line-switching transfer or a packet-switching transfer to the second end terminal;

said means responsive to a control signal changing-over to a line-switching data transfer or a mobile packet-switching transfer during the existing transfer with the presence of said control signal.

46. A method for transferring data selectively by line switching or by packet switching from a first switch to a second switch, the first switch being part of or having access to a line-switching network and a mobile packet switching network, comprising:

a) packetizing the data into data packets in the first switch if the data does not yet exist as data packets;

b) transferring the data packets from the first switch through the mobile packet-switching network to the second switch;

c) checking whether a control signal exists for changing-over from the packet-switching data transfer of the data packets through the mobile packet switching network to a line-switching connection to the second switch, wherein the control signal is produced by a network management system;

d) establishing the line-switching connection through the line-switching network to the second switch in response to said control signal, if the line-switching connection is not yet present; and

e) changing-over from the packet-switching data transfer of the data packets through the mobile packet switching network to a line-switching data transfer in response to said control signal and transferring data over the line switching connection to the second switch.

47. A data switching apparatus for routing data transfer for a telephone call, comprising:

a packet unit having a connection to a mobile packet switching network with wireless access;

a line unit having a connection to a line switching network; and

a controller receiving data from an input device and transferring said data to either said packet unit or to said line unit in response to a control signal that is generated as a result of monitoring of quality of service of a communications connection of said telephone call over said mobile packet switching network, without Interrupting interrupting said call'"'"'s communications connection being under establishment or established already by the transfer of data for the call while performing the change-over of the data transfer between the two units.