MSO's can operate circuit switched-based telephony services across their cable infrastructure by utilising translation technologies to transmit the signal over the HFC parts of the network to their customers, such as VolP, and then using alternative switching technologies instead of the traditional high costs switching systems. Packet cable switching services (PCSS) are being developed that allow the handling of both VoIP and circuit-switched calls through a single packet switch which makes the whole operation viable for MSOs and this will allow MSOs to create value-added products and new services into their existing portfolio.

As it will be appreciated, in order to allow traditional telephone receivers and other devices communicate with a system supported by a packet cable compliant system, a media terminal adapter (MTA), often referred to as a dongle, is required to translate the analogue voice signal to IP based data, compliant to PacketCable standards. A standard telephone can be plugged into the dongle, which, in turn, is connected to a cable modem or set-top box. The telephone may be used as normal, however, the telephone signal travels down the IP network to the PCSS and is handled in the cable infrastructure. All of this would be transparent to the user.

It may be possible for a customer to plug a MTA into the cable network and then start using internet telephony services, however, this is of no value to the MSO unless it is delivering its own telephony service, which it can control, quality assure, and bill for.

There are thus three important components in any commercially viable system.

Firstly, there is a need for a system such as the PacketCable Switching Server which offers IP services on a cable infrastructure. Then, there is need, as mentioned

already, for the Media Terminal Adapter (MTA) and finally, there is a need for a Media Switching System as in accordance with the present invention which will handle the delivery of media data such as VolP, video, etc. , between end points, maintain conferencing and further maintain various value added services on top of normal VolP.

It is well known to use a middle agent, generally called a gateway, which act as a broker between what are effectively the customer or client components and the server components. The idea of the gateway is that it is able to accept requests from clients using any protocol and translate and deliver these to a translator which translates these into the protocols required by the server components. The problem is the need to ensure that a session is maintained for each client or customer.

Essentially, for the services provider, what they want to be able to do is to have a situation whereby the gateway is effectively modular in the sense that as each new service or system comes available or indeed as each new customer device becomes available, the connection to the system can be seamless. What is required is to have a framework which makes it easy to create communication-enabled applications.

Essentially, this needs a gateway which allows for"pluggable"components, allowing developers to select the components that suit their needs, or to extend them to provide their own unique implementations.

Statements of Invention According to the invention, there is provided a media switching system comprising a customer having a customer system including a processor and a monitor and a telephone handset, the customer system having a termination point connected to a cable provided by a Multiple Services Operator (MSO) characterised in that there is provided means to provide an interface between the customer and the MSO, said interface further comprising a service layer means to ensure that all additional available services are directed through the MSO, the service layer means also including means to display the available services on the monitor for customer choice. The media switching system (EMSS), the subject of this patent application, enables the visual interface to the MSO's services to become an interface to telephony services. The screen interface, whether accessed through a cable

modem and computer or set-top box, provides a necessary service layer that ensures that the MTA and telephone can only access the MSO's own brand IP telephony service with the extended range of other services provided by the MSO, such as directory services, video-conferencing, email, instant messaging and collaboration services.

Further, there is provided means whereby on a telephone handset being connected to the cable via a media terminal adaptor (MTA), the system senses the presence of the MTA, defines the customer termination point, and sets up the necessary services to enable the customer to access the services in accordance with preset service provision rules.

In one embodiment, the system includes means to allocate an ID and associated billing procedure to the customer which may be a telephone number.

Ideally, the system provides emulation of the telephone handset. Ideally, the processor and monitor comprises a television set, monitor and set-top box.

Further, the invention provides a computer program comprising program instructions for causing a program to provide the necessary means for the system to operate, which computer program may be embodied in a record medium, stored on a computer memory, embodied on a read only memory, or carried on an electrical signal carrier.

Detailed Description of the Invention The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a simple overview of the invention, Fig. 2 is another overview,

Fig. 3 illustrates the core of the invention, Fig. 4 is an overview of a server registrar, and Fig. 5 is an overview of an actual cable communications system incorporating the invention.

Referring now to Fig. 1, there is illustrated, in simple form, a communications path using the invention. Essentially, this comprises, for example, and is shown simply, a telephone 1 feeding a dongle 2 which in turn feeds either a C modem 4 and computer 7 or a set-top box 5 on a TV. These then are connected to the PacketCable Switching Servers (PSS) 6 which in turn are connected to a media switching system (EMSS) 10, in accordance with the invention. The three components, when used in tandem, form a complete system for delivering telephony and IP communication services to the subscriber of costs of cable infrastructure. The EMSS 10 is connected via the network cable to the client or customer through either the set-top box 5 or the computer 7. The connection is illustrated by interrupted lines.

Before discussing the invention in more detail, it is important to appreciate that Fig. 1 shows, on a very simplified level, how such a system is used to place a normal telephone call. It should be noted that the customer subscribing is still using a normal telephone and does not realise there is any difference to the manner in which the call is placed, In reality, the call is handled via an IP network. The conversion of the call to IP is the task of the PacketCable compliant components, namely, the dongle 2 and the PCSS 6. Finally, the EMSS 10 controls the management of the whole system.

Effectively, the set-top box 5 or cable modem 4 simply links the dongle 5 to the cable head end, providing a data route to the PCSS 6.

It will be appreciated that this system is not limited to voice calls, since any of the services offered, through the media switching system by the cable or multiple services provider, can be delivered. All that is required is that the subscriber, i. e. the customer, has equipment which supports the services. Thus, video conferencing, instant message, whiteboarding and other collaborative communication methods may all be provided. Similarly, there is not shown the communications services that can

also be provided directly to the PC 7 connected to the cable modem 4 or through the set-top box 5.

It will also be appreciated that while, in the above, a telephone 1 has been illustrated, the dongle 2 can be used for other forms of telecommunications system such as videophones, cameras, PDA's, etc.

It should, however, be mentioned that one of the advantages of using PacketCable is that it offers a number of services beyond just the translation of circuit and packet switch telephony services which is a vitally important element of the present invention. This is particularly important since PacketCable standard is not proprietary.

One of the advantages of the present invention is that with regular VolP, a user or customer can initiate a call at any time without the operator necessarily being able to track the usage. For example, if a subscriber from a PC initiates the VolP call using some form of VoIP client across the IP network, all the provider shall see is that the IP bandwidth is being used for some purpose, not that it is specifically being used for a voice communication.

However, with the present invention and with the use of PacketCable, use of multimedia function can be accurately tracked. While the PacketCable compliant portion of the system provides a delivery mechanism of low level services for a communications backbone using cable infrastructure, it does not offer the actual communications services themselves. Accordingly, the media switching system is the backbone of the technology. Essentially, the media switching system has a gateway for interpositioning between the customer and a translator for converting protocols between the customer and the services required by the customer. It is thus essentially a framework for building software services that can be remotely accessed to a variety of different protocols. Essentially, it provides IP communications features such as presence management, user management, messaging, media delivery and conferencing. While there may be integrated services built into the system, the main feature is that it is a framework which allows the connection and construction of independent services and intercommunication of these services.

Referring now to Fig. 2, there is illustrated an overview of the framework of the system in which UMS represents the user management system. All the services are connected to a core (services framework) which is identified by the reference numeral 11.

Then, in turn, referring to Fig. 3, there is illustrated the core 11 of the services. These are shown as blocks, as this is the easiest way of showing the functionality. They provide sessions such that any interaction with a service has an associated session.

This enables the tracking and management of extended interactions that span multiple requests and responses from a customer to a service provider. The session services provide session maintenance through an extendable set of interfaces.

Session Group (SG) services enable the classification of sessions into manageable groups.

The registrars provide the system with a registration service. This can be extended to create registrars for different components and concepts within the system. A service register allows services to register themselves and their connection details, thus enabling the lookup and control of services provided. A session registrar allows session and session group services to register sessions, thus enabling the lookup of specific sessions and their associated service.

The administration provider, labelled"admin provider"in Fig. 3, is an example of a session service that provides a public interface to control a set of private services. It provides for the administration of all services registered with the service registrar.

Referring to Fig. 4, there is illustrated the server registrar 15, a session registrar 16, a user directory 17, a database 18, a media service 19, a provider 20 and a gateway 21 forming the core of the system.

The server registrar 15 allows the registration of any services with the provider and allows complete and dynamic control over the system. Services can be started, removed and controlled dynamically.

The session registrar 16 manages the session with the system. A session, in this context, is any ongoing interaction with either an internal or external system. For example, all of the current online user information, their current provider, their presence state, their preferences, etc. are all recorded in the user session registrar.

It is the central repository for session information. Tracking remote sessions in a registrar allows services, supplying different sessions, to coordinate interaction between these sessions.

The directory service, namely the user director 17, offers the customer user access to a directory server for organisation and personal information. The user directory is maintained on an a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).

The database 18 is any relational database which has a Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) driver and employs an extendible schema for data storage. The database stores all information, excluding that stored by the directory 17.

The providers 20 offer external access to the system and provide a set of services.

These services are entirely dependent on the needs of the system. If the system does not require invitations, for example, then invites can be omitted. Similarly, new sets of services can be easily added to suit the system's requirements. All interaction between a user client or customer and the system, occurs through a provider.

Although different providers may be accessed by a customer at different times, all interaction for a single session occurs through a single provider and they are controlled by the cable system provider.

The media service 19 is a multimedia service and, as can be seen, is designed to encompass any service that offers simultaneous media communication capabilities of multiple external entities. Shown, for example, are various services such as text chat which is simply a conferencing text messaging system, whiteboard which is essentially a shared graphical drawing environment, netpad which provides a collaborative environment for document creation and voice and video.

Finally, the gateway 21 is a most important feature of the present invention as it allows the systems to communicate with one another in a transparent fashion. It

provides an internal bridge between the providers in different installations. Further, the gateway can be extended to allow the system communicate with other systems.

Essentially, the gateway allows for the support of pluggable protocol architectures.

The gateway has a definition of input/output ports, there being one pair of input/output ports for each function. Thus, there is an input/output port which, at one stage, becomes the input from the customer to a translator and then when the translator has carried out it's necessary tasks, it then becomes the output port to the customer which downloads the information from the services used, which service has been transmitted through the translator. Essentially, the gateway facilitates the integration of diverse technologies and protocols. The gateway defines a series of functions whereby, irrespective of the customer protocol used, the pair have the same functionality and thus it is possible to transmit information directly from a customer to a translator and from the translator, who has received data from a service provider, back directly to the customer. Thus, it does not matter what protocol the customer uses. The protocol is defined by function and thus the)/0 is universal.

Further, when a telephone handset is connected to the cable via a media terminal adaptor (MTA), the system senses the presence of the MTA, defines the customer termination point by setting up an ID for the termination point, generally a telephone number, and sets up the necessary services to enable a customer to access the service in accordance with pre-service provision rules, such as, for example, billing and other services. In this way, the services provider, and in particular the cable company which is usually the provider, is now in control of the operation by the customer of any services that it requires through the communications system operated on the cable. This is of vital commercial importance.

Referring now to Fig. 5, there is illustrated the total architecture of a cable communications system incorporating the media switching system of the present invention, identified by the reference numeral 10. There is also illustrated the communication point 25 for connection to either a set-top box, the PacketCable compatible dongle to a cable modem and a PC or to a cable modem PC and again a compatible dongle, to provide, as shown, either traditional voice via set-top, voice over IP via cable modem or traditional voice. All of these are connected to the

present system 10 and then outwards to various commercial services which are illustrated.

Essentially, the present invention presents to a cable customer on a T. V. screen an interface to telephony services. It also manages through the clients software, i. e. that part of the system downloaded to the customer, a standard telephone handset connected via a media terminal adaptor, often referred to above as a dongle, to the set-top box or cable modem. Thus, it allows simple emulation of the handset functionality on the screen of the monitor and provides access to a simple directory layer which enables the launching of calls from a directory list. Such a directory, for example, may reside on the system itself which essentially is the server.

One of the major features of the present invention is that it automates the installation, provisioning and billing set-up of a telephony service upon detection of the action of plugging in an MTA to the customer set-top box. In other words, the present invention is capable of allowing a customer to attach an MTA to a set-top box that the customer may have bought themselves, as opposed to being provided to them by a cable company which heretofore has required the cable company to send out installers to install the MTA.

Essentially, the present invention enables detection of the presence of the MTA at the customer termination point and tells the cable provisioning system to create a telephone number for the customer, provides a billing account to the cable company's billing system and sets up a directory service on the server of the system for that customer.

The feature of the present invention is that enables all other systems to do all the things that it could do while presenting the MTA or telephone as part of a converged IP communications layer, whether they are sitting on the desktop or TV or a computer screen or what may be.

It will be appreciated that various aspects of the invention may be embodied on a computer that is running a program or program segments originating from a computer readable or usable medium, such medium including but not limited to magnetic

storage media (e. g. ROMs, floppy disks, hard disks, etc.), optically readable media (e. g. CD-ROMs, DVDs, etc. ) and carrier waves (e. g. transmissions over the internet).

A functional program, code and code segments, used to implement the present invention can be derived by a skilled computer programmer from the description of the invention contained herein. It will be appreciated therefore that a computerised program may be provided providing program instructions which, when loaded into a computer program, may be embodied on a record medium, a computer memory, a read only memory or carried on an electrical carrier signal.

In the specification the terms"comprise, comprises, comprised and comprising"or any variation thereof and the terms"include, includes, included and including"or any variation thereof are considered to be totally interchangeable and they should all be afforded the widest possible interpretation and vice versa.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment hereinbefore described, but may be varied in both construction and detail within the scope of the appended claims.