Service observing in a voice over IP telephone system

Abstract

An information handling system comprises a TCP/IP network connecting a hub to a multimedia server and the hub to a data server, and the hub to an IP telephony device that is then coupled to a network device. Data sent from the network device is addressed for transmission to the data server and is transmitted through the IP telephony device to the TCP/IP network. The present invention allows a user, such as a supervisor, to monitor the audio conversations of users on the system and current display information of another station. This can be done between remote systems so that the monitoring individual does not have to be in the same system as the user who is being monitored.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present invention relates in general to information processing systems, and in particular, to the use of Voice over IP technology to transmit voice conversations.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

[0004] Voice over IP (“VoIP”) is a relatively recent development that is utilized to transmit voice conversations over a data network using the Internet Protocol (“IP”). Internet Protocol is a part of the TCP/IP family of protocols described in software that tracks the Internet address of nodes, routes outgoing messages, and recognizes incoming messages. Such a data network may be the Internet or a corporate intranet, or any TCP/IP network. There are several potential benefits for moving voice over a data network using IP. First, there is a savings in money compared to the need to use traditional tolled telecommunications networks. Additionally, Voice over IP enables the management of voice and data over a single network. And, with the use of IP phones, moves, adds and changes are easier and less expensive to implement. Moreover, additional and integrated new services, including integrated messaging, bandwidth on demand, voice e-mails, the development of “voice portals” on the Web, simplified setting up and tearing down, and transferring of phone calls are capable.

[0005] Using Voice over IP technology, phone systems can communicate with each other over existing TCP/IP data networks typically present between remote offices. This feature alone can eliminate the need for expensive, dedicated circuits between facilities. The shared bandwidth can also be used for voice calls and data communication simultaneously; no bandwidth is dedicated to one or the other.

[0006] Another advantage of a Voice over IP system is the ability to implement a phone system over an existing data network that is already connecting workstations within a local area network, such as over an Ethernet. An Ethernet operates over twisted wire and over coaxial cable for connecting computers, printers, workstations, terminals, servers, etc., within the same building or a campus. The Ethernet utilizes frame packets for transmitting information. Voice over IP can utilize such packet switching capabilities to connect IP phones onto the Ethernet.

[0007] Because a telephone system is the primary means of communication for almost all businesses, troubleshooting of problems in the system is important for technicians and service personnel so that defective or non-working phones can be quickly repaired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] For a more complete understanding, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates an information processing system;

[0010] FIG. 2 illustrates a wide area network configuration;

[0011] FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of a wide area network configuration;

[0012] FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram;

[0013] FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a network card;

[0014] FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of the main board;

[0015] FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a peripheral card;

[0016] FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a telephony device;

[0017] FIG. 9 illustrates a flow diagram of a station-to-station telephone call;

[0018] FIGS. 10, 11, 12 and 14 illustrate flow diagrams;

[0019] FIG. 13 illustrates functions implemented in the processing means of the main board;

[0020] FIG. 15 illustrates a message flow diagram; and

[0021] FIG. 16 illustrates a state diagram.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth such as specific network configurations, network devices, types of multimedia traffic, etc. to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits have been shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. For the most part, details concerning timing considerations and the like have been omitted in as much as such details are not necessary to obtain a complete understanding of the present invention and are within the skills of persons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.

[0023] Refer now to the drawings wherein depicted elements are not necessarily shown to scale and wherein like or similar elements are designated by the same reference numeral through the several views.

[0024] The present invention allows a user, such as a supervisor, to monitor the audio conversations of users on the system and current display information of another station. This can be done between remote systems so that the monitoring individual does not have to be in the same system as the user who is being monitored.

[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates an information processing system configured in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 1 essentially illustrates a local area network (“LAN”), which in one configuration could be implemented with an Ethernet protocol. However, the present invention is not limited to use with any particular data transfer protocol. Workstation PC 106, network hub 103 and server 104 coupled to each other illustrate a typical LAN configuration where data is communicated between the workstation 106 and the server 104. Naturally, other workstations and servers could also be coupled to the LAN through hub 103, including the use of additional hubs. Hub 103 may be a 10 Base T or 10/100 Base T Ethernet hub. In an alternative embodiment, the hub 103 and server 104 may be implemented in the same data processing system. Herein, the term “workstation” can refer to any network device that can either receive data from a network, transmit data to a network, or both.

[0026] To add in the voice communication capabilities, an IP multimedia server 101 is coupled to hub 103 and an IP telephony device 105 is connected between the workstation 106 and the hub 103. The IP multimedia server 101 is coupled to a central office (“CO”) 102 so that telephony device 105 can communicate to other telecommunications networks, such as the public switched telephone network (“PSTN”). Naturally, additional IP telephony device 105 can be coupled to hub 103, including having workstations coupled to hub 103 through such IP telephony devices. Further details on multimedia server 101 and IP telephony device 105 are described below. An IP telephone, or telephony device, is any apparatus, device, system, etc., that can communicate multimedia traffic using IP telephony technology. IP telephony is defined within Newton's Telecom Dictionary, Harry Newton, Sixteenth Edition, page 454, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

[0027] Information, or data, on the network includes both the voice and data information, and any other multimedia traffic. Traffic as a result of the data transmissions between workstation 106 and server 104 affects the bandwidth available for communications between telephony device 105 and multimedia server 101. However, as discussed above, because the multimedia traffic is real-time, it must be transferred with no or minimum latency. An embodiment of the present invention provides a protocol for ensuring that the multimedia data is transferred within a specified minimum or no latency by having the data information pass through the IP telephony device 105 as it is being transferred to/from workstation 106. This configuration, as will be subsequently discussed in further detail, permits the IP telephony device 105 to throttle the data to/from workstation 106, effectively giving the IP telephony device 105 priority on the network.

[0028] FIG. 2 illustrates how the information processing system of the present invention as noted above with respect to FIG. 1 can be implemented across a wide area network (“WAN”) 201 where the multimedia server 101 of FIG. 1 is coupled to another multimedia server 202 across LAN 201. Note that the other items described above in FIG. 1 have been omitted in FIG. 2 for the sake of simplicity.

[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates further detail of a configuration of the present invention over a WAN 201. Note that such a WAN may implement the TCP/IP protocol, and could be a public WAN, such as the Internet, a private data network, an intranet, or a Virtual Private Network (“VPN”).

[0030] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary system where WAN 201 couples an information processing system 301 in Dallas, Tex. to another information processing system 302 in Detroit, Mich., while also permitting a remote system 303 to couple to both systems 301 and 302 through WAN 201, such as from a telecommuter's home.

[0031] System 301 is similar to the system described above with respect to FIG. 1. System 301 is coupled to WAN 201 through router 304.

[0032] System 302 is similar to system 301 with the exception that a data server is not implemented within system 302. Router 305 is similar to router 304, multimedia server 306 is similar to multimedia server 101, hub 307 is similar to hub 103, IP telephony device 308 is similar to IP telephony device 105, and workstation 309 is similar to workstation 106.

[0033] Remote system 303 is coupled to WAN 201 using a modem 310, such as an ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) modem. A NAT (Network Address Translation) router/hub 311 then couples a workstation PC 312 and an IP telephony device 313 to the modem 310. Not only can data be transferred across WAN 201 between systems 301-303, but also any one of telephony devices 105, 308 and 313 can communicate with each other and with the PSTN (not shown) over CO lines coupled to either of systems 301 and 302.

[0034] FIG. 4 illustrates further details of system 301. As noted above, system 301 is coupled to WAN 201 through IP router 304, which is coupled by line 413 to Ethernet hub 103. Ethernet hub 103 is connected by line 414 to fast Ethernet telephony device 105, which is coupled by line 415 to workstation 106. Ethernet hub 103 is coupled to IP network card 402 by connection 416, which may be a 10/100 Base T connector.

[0035] Multimedia server 101 is comprised of main board 401, network card 402, hard drive 403, backplane 404 and peripheral cards 405. network card 402 is further discussed below in more detail with respect to FIG. 5. network card 402 is coupled by ribbon cable 409 to main board 401, which is further described below in more detail with respect to FIG. 6. multimedia server 101 is powered through power pack 407. IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) HDD (hard disk drive) 403 is coupled by ribbon cable 410 to network card 402 and main board 401, while network card 402 is coupled to backplane 404 through ribbon cable 411. Backplane 404 provides capacity for several peripheral cards (P-cards) 405, which are of a typical configuration for enabling a telephone system to connect to a central office (CO), T1 lines, analog central office trunks and analog telephones 406. Alternatively, ribbon cable 411 could be coupled to one of the peripheral cards 405 directly.

[0036] Referring next to FIG. 5, there is illustrated a block diagram of network card 402. Network card 402 is responsible for communicating with all IP telephones, remote telephones and remote sites via a 10/100 Base T connection. The higher-level communication protocol used may be a standard UDP/IP (User Datagram Protocol/Internet Protocol) protocol. In addition, network card 402 communicates with the main board 401 for overall system control. Network card 402 has effectively replaced individual electronic key telephone circuits with a single Ethernet interface, and network card 402 now acts as the central distribution point for all peripheral cards 405, which can plug into backplane 404.

[0037] Ribbon cable 410 from hard drive 403 is received at I/O 501 coupled to bus 502. Bus 502 is coupled to ECP (Enhanced Call Processing) microcontroller 503, DRAM 504, DSPs 505 and 506, DSP farm expansion connector 507, digital cross-point switch 509, and I/O and buffers 512. ECP 503 is a microcontroller responsible for overall communications between network card 402 and main board 401. ECP 503 directly interfaces the DSPs 505, 506 via the host port interface. The host port interface is a parallel (8 bit) interface between the DSPs and the host processor. This interface can be used to directly manipulate the DSP memory by a host processor. I/O 501 is a mailbox type parallel communication channel, which is multiplexed between communication with the IDE disk drive 403 and I/O 501 allowing direct control for functions such as firmware download and message passing. ECP 503 is based on a 16-bit Hitachi H8 family processor with built-in flash memory.

[0038] DSPs 505 and 506 can be implemented using Texas Instrument 5410 DSPs that perform packet encoding/decoding, jitter buffer management and UDP/IP protocol stacked functions. DSPs 505, 506 are connected to an external SRAM 511 and ASIC (FPGA) 513 that performs a PCI bridge function between bus 508 and bus 514, which is coupled to connectors 517 and 416 via 10/100 MAC/PHY devices 515 and 516. DSPs 505, 506 communicate with peripherals 405 via bus 502. DSP firmware is downloaded via the host port interface 501. I/O 501 allows communication with the main board 401 and the hard drive 403. Additionally, EPC 503 can directly control a daughter card containing additional DSPs through expansion connector 507 for functions such as speech compression.

[0039] Digital cross-point switch 509 is used to connect system voice conversations as needed between peripherals. Main board 401 houses the master cross-points with 616 discussed below with respect to FIG. 6. The peripheral cards 405 share a pool of 160 time slots. Cross-point switch 509 is primarily responsible for connecting the packet-switched voice connections of the IP telephones or remote systems to the circuit switchboard. The FPGA/PCI bridge 513 performs the functions required to connect the 10/100 Base T Ethernet MAC/PHY devices 515, 516. Since devices 515, 516 are designed to communicate via a standard PCI bus 514, the FPGA 513 implements a minima PCI bus implementation. In addition, the FPGA 513 implements I/O latches and buffers as required.

[0040] The 10/100 Base T devices 515, 516 are stand-alone Ethernet devices, which perform the media access control (“MAC”) and the PHYsical layer functions in a single, low-cost chip. Devices 515, 516 communicate to the host processor via a standard PCI bus 514, and communicate to the network via a pulse transformer coupled RJ-45 connection 517, 416. These devices contain FIFOs to minimize lost packets during traffic peaks. Per the PCI bus mastering specification, devices 515, 516 take control of the DSP bus and DMA data directly to SRAM 511. Conversely, the DSP 505, 506 writes data to be sent into the SRAM 511 and the devices 515, 516 DMA data via the PCI bus 514 to the network (LAN).

[0041] Referring next to FIG. 6, there is illustrated, in block diagram form, main board 401 for integrating call processing and voice processing using a single processing means, which in this example is one microprocessor 601. Microprocessor 601, which may be a Motorola 68000 class microprocessor, communicates with hard disk 607 using driver circuitry 602. Hard disk 607 stores program data, voice prompts, voice mail messages, and all other types of speech used within main board 401.

[0042] Microprocessor 601 also includes watchdog timer 603 and real-time clock source 604.

[0043] Microprocessor 601 is coupled via bus 608 to flash memory 605 and dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”) 606. Flash memory 605 is used to store bootstrap data for use during power up of main board 401. DRAM 606 stores the program accessed by microprocessor 601 during operation of main board 401.

[0044] Bus 608 also couples microprocessor 601 to signal processing circuitry, which in this example is digital signal processor (“DSP”) 615. Digital signal processor 615 implements a number of functions traditionally implemented by discrete analog components.

[0045] Referring next to FIG. 13, there are illustrated some of the primary functions implemented in DSP 615. DTMF receivers 1301 are implemented using frequency domain filtering techniques. DTMF receivers 1301 detect all 16 standard DTMF (touch-tone) digits.

[0046] Automatic gain control (“AGC”) 1302 is a closed-loop gain control system which normalizes received audio levels during recording.

[0047] Recording buffers 1303, which are coupled to AGC 1302, receive and store speech samples after they have passed through AGC block 1302. These speech samples are converted to μ-law PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) and double buffered (several samples per buffer). Microprocessor 601 copies the record data out of DSP buffers 1303 into RAM buffers (not shown), which are located in the microprocessor 601 data RAM area.

[0048] Fax tone detector 1304 is implemented using frequency domain filtering techniques. Fax tone detector 1304 detects the standard 1100 Hz FAX CNG tone (also referred to as the Calling Tone).

[0049] Caller ID modems 1305 are 1200 baud FSK modems similar to Bell 202-type modems. Caller ID modems 1305 are implemented as a frequency discriminator where a time delayed (quadrature) signal is multiplied by the original signal, low pass filtered, then sliced, which produce the square wave caller ID data stream.

[0050] Call processing tone generators 1307 are free running oscillators which generate the appropriate tones (and tone pairs) which make up the industry standard call processing tones. These tones include:

[0051] dial tone

[0052] busy/reorder tone

[0053] ring back tone

[0054] single frequency (440 Hz) tone

[0055] DTMF dialer tones

[0056] Play buffers 1308 replay data from hard disk 607 through microprocessor 601 and place this play data in buffers 1308. This data is converted from an 8-bit μ-law PCM signal to 14-bit linear data.

[0057] Conference bridges 1306 allow multiple conference bridges to mix together conferees into a multi-party conference. These conferees may be a mixture of inside and outside parties. A combination of “loudest speaker” and “summing” is utilized.

[0058] DSP 615 communicates with microprocessor 601 via a host interface port (“HIP”) via bus 608. The HIP link supports a command-based protocol, which is used to directly read or write DSP memory locations. DSP 615 is a RAM-based part and has its program downloaded from microprocessor 601. Once downloaded and running, microprocessor 601 (the host) polls for events or receives interrupts indicating that data is available. DSP 615 speech connections are made over an industry standard 32-time slot, 2.048 megabits per second (Mb/s) digital serial link 618. Link 618 occupies one of the digital highways implemented by digital cross-point matrix 616. Each service of DSP 615 occupies a single time slot. For example, DTMF receiver 1 occupies time slot 0 while conference bridge circuit 12 occupies time slot 31.

[0059] Digital cross-point matrix 616 is also coupled to bus 608 and operates to connect any voice path to any other voice path. Digital cross-point matrix 616 is a VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) integrated circuit. An example of digital cross-point matrix 616 is manufactured by MITEL Semiconductor Corporation as part No. 8980. Digital cross-point matrix 616 communicates with microprocessor 601 via a memory mapped input/output (I/O) scheme. A command/control protocol is used for communication between microprocessor 601 and digital cross-point matrix 616 via bus 608. Cross-point matrix 616 is coupled by highway 618 to DSP 615. Cross-point matrix 616 is coupled to highway 617.

[0060] Digital cross-point matrix 616 is capable of making 256 simultaneous fully non-blocking connections. However, it may be upgraded by adding additional DSPs and/or cross-point matrices.

[0061] Gate array 612 is an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) based device. An example of gate array 612 is manufactured by XILINX. Gate array 612 is responsible for generating all system timing. A master clock signal is provided by microprocessor 601 at 16.384 MHz. This clock signal is divided down to provide a number of phase coherent system clocks such as 4.096 MHz, 2.048 MHz and 8 KHz (frame sync). In addition, a 5-bit time slot counter is implemented which allows all the system CODECs to detect the appropriate time slot to use (0-31). An additional divider chain is included to divide the system clock down to 20 Hz, which is used by the ringing generator power supply (not shown).

[0062] Gate array 612 is downloaded at boot-up by system software. Gate array 612 is based on an SRAM architecture. That is, the internal fusible links commonly found in programmable logic are actually stored in volatile SRAM. Because of this architecture, gate array 612 is downloaded after power-up. Also, note the added flexibility of being able to modify the logic by simply loading new system software. Because the device is SRAM-based, it loses its programming when power is removed.

[0063] Bus 608 is also coupled to modem 610, which provides a capability of calling into system 401 on a remote basis to load additional programs, voice prompts, etc., or updates thereto, into hard disk 607. Modem 610 is coupled to coder/decoder (“CODEC”) 611, which is coupled to highway 617. This connection allows coupling of modem 610 through cross-point matrix 616 to CO lines through bus 409 to the p-cards described with respect to FIG. 5.

[0064] Also coupled to highway 617 is dual subscriber line access chip (DSLAC) 619, which is well-known in the art, and which is coupled to analog ports 620 and 621, which provide an ability for system 401 to communicate to analog-type connections such as cordless telephones and fax machines.

[0065] Highway 617 is also coupled to CODEC 622, which is coupled to transformer 623 to a music source, which provides an ability to couple an external music source to a caller through cross-point matrix 616 for such things as providing the caller with music on hold.

[0066] Power to system 401 is provided through switching power supply 407, which converts AC to the various DC supply voltages needed by circuitry within system 401.

[0067] Referring next to FIG. 7, there is illustrated peripheral-card (“p-card”) 405, which is coupled to main board 401. Main board 401 communicates with p-card 405 via system speech/control highways 411. This connection 411 is made to microcontroller 701 via digital crosspoint switch 705. P-card 405 provides interconnections between CO lines and analog phone lines to network card 402.

[0068] Microcontroller 701 controls all the real-time functions associated with p-card 405. When p-card 405 is plugged into backplane 404, a card address is assigned to p-card 405. This card address is read by microcontroller 701 and is used to filter commands over communication link 411. When network card software wants to communicate with the specific p-card 405, the address is sent in the message packet which all p-cards 405 receive. P-cards 405 match the address in the message to the hard-wired address on the ribbon cable 411. If a match is made, only that p-card 405 responds to the command set.

[0069] Microcontroller 701 contains an internal program memory (not shown) and is connected to an external DRAM 703. The internal program memory contains a bootstrap program which upon reset or power-up, requests a fresh firmware load from network card 402. This firmware load is transferred to DRAM 703. Upon download completion, the program is run from within DRAM 703. This scheme allows for microcontroller 701 firmware to be updated and loaded at any time.

[0070] Network card 402 sources all system timing through buffers 704. Timing signals to p-card 405 consists of a 2.048 MHz clock signal, an 8 KHz frame sync, which signifies the first time slot of a 32 time slot highway, and 5 time slot counter bits, which represent a binary count from 0 to 31.

[0071] As mentioned above, p-card 405 is assigned a card slot address when it is connected to network card 402. This card slot address is used to calculate which time slots p-card 405 should be using. The time slots used for the CO codecs 706 and analog phone codecs 707 are generated by buffers 704.

[0072] The loop start central office (CO) lines are supplied by the local telephone company and consist of a wet balanced differential audio pair. The term “wet” refers to the fact that a voltage of −48 volts is present on the pair. The system requests dial tone from the CO by providing a nominal 200 ohm loop across the TIP and RING conductors and releases the connection by opening the loop. The CO rings the system by placing a 90 vrms AC, 20 Hz sine wave on the TIP and RING conductors. The system seizes the line by going off hook.

[0073] Interfaces 708 incorporate a circuit that monitors the voltage present across TIP and RING of each CO. This line voltage monitor circuit serves to detect the ring voltage present during ringing (ring detection) and the unique feature of monitoring the CO line status for conditions such as whether the CO is plugged in or if someone is off hook in front of the system. The latter can be used to detect theft of service or allow a credit card verification terminal to be used without interfering with normal system operation.

[0074] The voltage monitor circuit consists of a balanced differential op-amp connected across TIP and RING of the CO lines through a very high impedance (>10M ohms). The output of the four voltage monitor op-amps are fed to an analog-to-digital converter with a built-in analog multiplexer (not shown). Microcontroller 701 firmware monitors the line voltages.

[0075] There is also a balanced differential AC coupled op amp across the CO TIP and RING to monitor the low level audio tones present during caller ID. The output of these op-amps are selected via an analog switch during the idle period and are connected to the CO line codec 706.

[0076] To correctly terminate the CO line (seizure) care must be taken to satisfy the DC loop requirements (˜200 ohms) and the AC impedance requirements (˜600 ohms). The classic approach has been to terminate TIP and RING with an inductor (called a holding coil) which has a large inductance (>1 Hy) and a DC resistance of ˜200 ohms. The inductor separates the AC and DC components to give the desired effect. The problem is that the inductor must be large enough not to saturate with currents as high as 100 milliamps. An inductor which satisfies these requirements is physically cumbersome.

[0077] P-card 405 incorporates a solid state inductor circuit called a gyrator (not shown) to implement the holding coil function. This single transistor emulates an inductor with the above requirements while taking up very little PCB space.

[0078] A small solid state relay (not shown) is used as the hook switch. When energized, the gyrator holding coil is placed across TIP and RING closing the loop. The audio present on TIP and RING is AC coupled to a small dry transformer. The secondary of this transformer is connected to the AC termination impedance and to the codec 708, which may be implemented on a dual subscriber line access chip (“DSLAC”).

[0079] High voltage protection is provided for all paths on the TIP and RING connections. These paths include TIP to RING, TIP to GROUND, RING to GROUND, and TIP and RING to GROUND. This high voltage protection is accomplished by first passing the TIP and RING conductors through positive temperature coefficient varistors (not shown). These varistors act as resettable fuses. When excessive current flows through these varistors, they become resistive thus limiting the current flow. When the excessive current is stopped, the original resistance is restored.

[0080] Referring to FIG. 8, there is illustrated a block diagram of further detail of IP telephony device 105. IP telephony device 105 may be a DSP based telephone instrument. Telephony device 105 communicates with the multimedia server 101 via the UDP/IP Protocol. PHYsical connection to the LAN is via an Ethernet 10/100 Base T interface. IP telephony device 105 contains the ability to perform layer-2 switching between two Ethernet ports in the telephony device for total control over voice versus data quality of service in accordance with the present invention. Speech samples are digitized, stored in 16 millisecond long packets and transmitted to the multimedia server 101 via the UDP/IP Protocol. As packets are received, they are triple-buffered to compensate for jitter before playback.

[0081] Connection 415 from workstation 106 is received by Ethernet RJ-45 connector 815, which is coupled to MAC/PHY device 813. Connection 414 between hub 103 and telephony device 105 is connected to RJ-45 connector 816 which is coupled to MAC/PHY device 814. Devices 813 and 814 are coupled by PCI bus 812 to FPGA/PCI bridge 802.

[0082] DSP 801 may be a Texas Instruments Model 5402 DSP; DSP 801 can be the only processor implemented within telephony device 105. DSP 801 performs typical DSP audio algorithms such as tone generation, gain, speaker phone algorithms, and energy detection. In addition, DSP 801 acts as a standard control processor performing such tasks as scanning the keyboard 807, lighting LED lamps 808, displaying LCD messages on LCD 810, performing UDP/IP stack functions, and communicating with devices 813, 814 via the PCI bus 812. Note that DSP 801 communicates with keyboard 807, LEDs 808, LCD display 810, and peripheral connection 811 by I/O device 809 in a typical manner. Peripheral connection 811 permits a coupling of DSP 801 to a DSS console. A DSS console is a stand-alone device, which connects to the IP telephony device 105 to provide 64 individual LED lamps and keys. The lamps can be programmed by the user to monitor the status of individual stations, trunks or features. Pressing the key will access the associated function. Each telephony device in the system can connect to a DSS console. The DSS console communicates with the IP telephony device 105 via a 9600 baud serial communication link. The IP telephony device 105 does not contain a serial UART device, so the serial data protocol is controlled by software running in DSP 801. Physical connection between the telephony device and DSS console may be via a standard two pair modular line cord.

[0083] DSP 801 is coupled to an external FLASH memory 803 and a fast SRAM 804, and FPGA 802 via buses 805 and 806.

[0084] CODEC 817 and CODEC 819 perform analog to digital and digital to analog conversion of speech signals. CODEC 817 is connected to the handsets, speaker and microphone elements (not shown) via connector 818, while CODEC 819 is connected to the hands-free speaker 821 through amplifier 820, and to the hands-free microphone 822. Separating the functionality in this way permits the IP telephony device 105 to send tones or voice to one speaker while allowing a normal conversation over the other.

[0085] FPGA/PCI bridge 802 performs the functions required to connect telephone 105 to the 10/100 Base T Ethernet devices 813, 814. Since devices 813, 814 are designed to communicate via a standard PCI bus 812, the FPGA 802 implements a minimal PCI bus implementation. In addition, the FPGA 802 implements I/O latches and buffers as required.

[0086] Devices 813, 814 perform the Media Access Control and the Physical layer functions. Devices 813, 814 communicate to DSP 801 via a standard PCI bus 812, and communicate to the LAN via post-transformer coupled RJ-45 connections 815, 816. Devices 813, 814 can contain FIFOs to minimize lost packets during traffic peaks. Per the PCI bus mastering specification, devices 813, 814 take control of the buses 805, 806 and direct memory access (DMA) data directly to SRAM 804. Conversely, DSP 801 writes data to be sent into the SRAM 804 and the devices 813, 814 DMA the data via the PCI bus 812 to the LAN.

[0087] Referring to FIG. 9, there is illustrated a station-to-station call to a remote cite. In step 901, a user 105 in Dallas 301 lifts the handset to place an intercom call to user 308 in Detroit 302. In step 902, user 105 dials an access code associated with site 302. These codes are currently three digits long and are in the range 700-799. User 105 then dials the extension number of user 308. In step 903, the IP series multimedia server 101 assigns one of the pooled, compressed voice channels used for voice communication between sites. In step 904, the IP series multimedia server 101 then checks a configuration database for the IP address associated with user 308. A control message is sent to multimedia server 306 via the TCP/IP space WAN 201, requesting the called party 308 to start ringing. Data contained in the control message includes the originator's caller ID. In step 905, the remote multimedia server 306 acknowledges the request and attempts to ring the called extension 308 in the same fashion that a local extension would (i.e., the remote station is now acting as though it was placing the call from the local site). In step 906, if the called party 308 does not answer, the call is handled by the normal call processing routines to re-route the call (in this case, the call is rerouted to voice mail).

[0088] Referring to FIG. 10, before the service observing feature of the present invention can be utilized, the installer/technician will enter the password protected programming mode. Once entered (step 1001), the technician enters a programming code, e.g., function 32, in step 1002, then enters the extension number of the supervisor wishing to have access to the service observing feature (step 1003). This is the extension that is allowed to monitor other extensions. Thereafter, the technician either enables or disables the feature in step 1004. If the feature is enabled, the technician then programs either the individual extension, or lists of extensions, enabled to be observed in steps 1005 and 1006. The service observing database record is then updated with the new information in step 1007. The configuration database contains the configuration detail of the system and contains information such as feature authorization for stations, call routing, etc. The configuration data is stored in the hard drive 403 as a database file. Step 1007 is the act of enabling the service observing feature in the configuration database. If the service observing feature is disabled in step 1004, the service observing database record is cleared and updated with the new information in step 1008. The configuration database is updated by writing the new feature authorization data to the hard disk drive 403. Such features are assigned to soft feature keys by entering a program mode and assigning a feature code to the desired key. Such programmable soft feature keys are also referred to as DSS keys, or Direct Station Select keys. Many features can be assigned to such soft keys. The process ends in step 1009.

[0089] Referring next to FIG. 11, the service observing feature is assigned to a programmable available soft feature key on a telephone. Such features are assigned to soft feature keys by entering a program mode and assigning a feature code to the desired key. Such programmable soft feature keys are also referred to as DSS keys, or Direct Station Select keys. Many features can be assigned to such soft keys. The process begins in step 1101, and the user goes off hook with the telephone in step 1102. To program a service observing key, a program/help key is depressed in step 1103 and a key mapping function, e.g., 2, is entered in step 1104. This enters the button mapping mode. In step 1105, a prompt will play asking the user to press the desired soft feature key, e.g., a programmable key on the telephone. Once the key is depressed in step 1106, the user then enters the service observing key code, e.g., 561, in step 1107 and presses the soft feature key again to confirm the entry in step 1108. This soft feature key is now a service observing key that can be used by the supervisor to activate the service observing feature as required. The process ends in step 1109.

[0090] Referring to FIGS. 12 and 14, to initiate the service observing feature (step 1201), the supervisor presses the service observing soft feature key previously programmed in step 1202, and then either presses a soft feature key associated with an extension to be monitored, or dials the extension number of the extension to be monitored via the telephone key pad in step 1203. The program then checks to see if the desired extension is allowed to be monitored (see steps 1005, 1006 in FIG. 10) and, if so, verifies that the extension is in a valid, connected state (steps 1204 and 1205). If neither of the above tests are satisfied, an error prompt will be played indicating that there is an error in step 1212. The process will exit in step 1213 If the tests in steps 1204 and 1205 are satisfied, system software will temporarily replace the normal LCD display data on the supervisor's phone with the display data the monitored extension is displaying in step 1206. During the service observing state, the observer's display displays the exact information showing on the observed station. This allows the observer to monitor the number dialed/received, length of time on the call, calls in queue (if the observed station is an ACD agent), etc. Each station has a data space reserved for display information and that data is sent to its corresponding telephone. In the case of service observing, the observing station's display information is overwritten by the data currently showing on the observed station. Call processing software swaps data pointers temporarily. This allows a supervisor to check such items as call duration, caller ID data, etc. In addition, the transmit audio path of the observed telephone and the transmit path of the party the observed extension is connected to, are mixed together via one of the system conference bridges 1306 in step 1207. The mixed audio is then routed to the receiver of the supervisor monitoring the call in step 1208. This allows the supervisor to hear both sides of the conversation equally, while not allowing any of the supervisor's own transmit audio to be detected by the monitored parties.

[0091] It is a feature of service observing to allow the supervisor to record the bi-directional audio of the observed parties. To initiate this feature, the supervisor simply presses a RECORD key on the supervisor's telephone during the observation process (or any combination of numeric and/or programmable keys on the telephone pre-programmed to initiate the recording of audio received by the telephone). The key is pressed again to stop recording. For example, in step 1209, if the supervisor presses the RECORD key, then in step 1210, a recording buffer 1303 is assigned, and the conversation is recorded in step 1211. The service observing session is terminated when either the supervisor or the observed extension goes on hook. Once terminated, the supervisor's display returns to the normal idle display for that extension and the conference bridge 1306 used for mixing the audio is freed in step 1402. If the supervisor was recording the conversation, the recording port (buffer 1303) is freed in step 1404 and the recording is saved in the supervisor's mailbox. The process exits in step 1406.

[0092] FIG. 16 illustrates a state diagram further showing the process of the present invention as described above with respect to FIGS. 12 and 14. A service observer's telephone will start in the idle state, and then go off-hook to an off-hook state. When the service observer depresses a soft key programmed for initiating service observing, the telephone will go into the service observing (SVC OB) state. A DSS key may also be depressed by the service observer for the station to be observed. Alternatively, an extension number may be entered by the observer. These digits are collected and the telephone proceeds to a digit collection state. If the extension is in a remote site, the process enters into a remote service observing setup state and a connection is then established with the remote site and a communication channel is assigned between the two sites. If no communication channel is available, an error state is entered into. If a communication channel is available, then a connection is established between the two sites and the process proceeds to the remote service observing state where the remote telephone is observed by the service observer. Once that process is terminated, a release (RLS) state is entered into when a remove message is sent from the service's telephone to the remote telephone, and the process is completed with an acknowledgment (ACK).

[0093] FIG. 15 further illustrates the message flow of such a multi-site service observing process where when the service observer goes off-hook and depresses the service observing and DSS (or extension digits) keys, a message is sent from site A to site B to establish a service observing connection. Site B will then assign a voice channel and will make an audio connection between sites A and B. Service observing is then conducted as described above. When the observer decides to discontinue observing the remote extension, a remove message is sent from site A to site B, whereby site B in response thereto tears down the connection. An acknowledgment is then sent to site A when the connection has been torn down.

[0094] Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. In a telephone system, a method for a first telephone extension monitoring operation of a second telephone extension that is communicating with another party, comprising the steps of while the second telephone extension is off hook and communicating with the another party, receiving by the first telephone extension a code identifying the second telephone extension; and in response to receipt of the code, copying information received by the second telephone extension to the first telephone extension so that the information is observable by a user of the first telephone extension.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of: presenting the information by the first telephone extension for observation by the user of the first telephone extension.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the information is audio as a result of the second telephone extension communicating with the another party, wherein the method further comprises the step of preventing the second telephone extension and the another party from hearing any audio from the first telephone extension.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the audio is part of a conversation between a user of the second telephone extension and the another party.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the presenting step further comprises the step of playing the audio over a speaker associated with the first telephone extension.

6. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the information is data indicating a status pertaining to the second telephone extension communicating with the another party.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the data is displayed by the second telephone extension to a user.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the presenting step further comprises the step of displaying the data by the first telephone extension.

9. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the playing step further comprises the step of connecting transmit and receive audio ports of the second telephone extension to a receive audio port of the first telephone extension via a conference bridge.

10. The method as recited in claim 3, further comprising the step of: recording the audio.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, further comprising the step of: storing the audio in a digital format in a buffer associated with the first telephone extension.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of: receiving by the first telephone extension a signal to activate the copying step.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the signal received by the first telephone system to activate the copying step is created as a result of a button depressed on the first telephone system by the user of the first telephone system.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the button is depressed before the code is received by the first telephone extension.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the code is created as a result of one or more buttons depressed on the first telephone system by the user of the first telephone system.

16. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the code is created as a result of one or more buttons depressed on the first telephone system by the user of the first telephone system.

17. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein a microphone associated with the first telephone extension is disabled while the audio is played over the speaker.

18. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second telephone extensions communicate over a data network, wherein the copying step is performed over the data network.

19. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the data network is a local area network.

20. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the data network is a wide area network.

21. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the data network is an open network.

22. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the data network is the Internet.

23. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the first and second telephone extensions communicate over the data network using Internet Protocol.

24. An information handling system comprising: a data network; a telecommunications server connected to the data network; a hub connected to the data network; a first telecommunications device coupled to the hub via the data network; and a second telecommunications device coupled to the hub via the data network, wherein the telecommunications server further includes circuitry for enabling the first telecommunications device to monitor a voice conversation between a user of the second telecommunications device and another party without the second telecommunications device and the another party being able to hear audio originating from the first telecommunications device.

25. The system as recited in claim 24, wherein the another party is in voice communication with the user of the second telecommunications device over the data network.

26. The system as recited in claim 25, wherein the another party is a third telecommunications device connected to the data network.

27. The system as recited in claim 25, wherein the another party is a third telecommunications device coupled to the data network via the telecommunications server.

28. The system as recited in claim 27, wherein the third telecommunications device is coupled to the data network via a public switched telephone network that is coupled to the telecommunications server.

29. The system as recited in claim 24, wherein the enabling circuitry further comprises: circuitry for receiving a request from the first telecommunications to monitor the voice conversation between the user of the second telecommunications device and the another party, and a conference bridge for transferring a copy of data representing the voice conversation to the first telecommunications device, wherein the first telecommunications device includes circuitry for translating the data representing the voice conversation into audio played over a speaker associated with the first telecommunications device.

30. The system as recited in claim 24, wherein data communicated over the data network is transferred in packets.

31. The system as recited in claim 24, wherein the data network communicates data using an IP protocol.

32. The system as recited in claim 24, further comprising: a computer workstation coupled to the data network via the first telecommunications device; and a data server connected to the data network and communicating with the computer workstation.

33. The system as recited in claim 29, wherein the circuitry for receiving the request from the first telecommunications to monitor the voice conversation between the user of the second telecommunications device and the another party further comprises circuitry for receiving an extension number of the second telecommunications device dialed by a user of the first telecommunications device.

34. The system as recited in claim 24, wherein a portion of the data network coupling the second telecommunications device to the hub further comprises a wide area network.

35. The system as recited in claim 24, wherein a portion of the data network coupling the second telecommunications device to the hub further comprises the Internet.

36. The system as recited in claim 24, wherein the telecommunications server further comprises circuitry for enabling the first telecommunications device to view information pertaining to the voice conversation being displayed on the second telecommunications device in real time.

37. A computer program product adaptable for storage on a computer readable medium and operable for enabling a first telephone extension to monitor operation of a second telephone extension that is communicating with another party, the computer program product comprising the program steps of receiving a request over a data network from the first telephone extension a request for the first telephone extension to monitor the operation of another telephone extension; receiving over the data network from the first telephone extension a code identifying the second telephone extension as the extension that the first telephone extension is requesting to monitor; and in response to receipt of the code, copying information received by the second telephone extension to the first telephone extension so that the information is observable by a user of the first telephone extension.

38. The computer program product as recited in claim 37, wherein the information is audio as a result of the second telephone extension communicating with the another party.

39. The computer program product as recited in claim 37, wherein the information is data indicating a status pertaining to the second telephone extension communicating with the another party.

40. The computer program product as recited in claim 37, wherein the copying program step farther comprises the program step of connecting transmit and receive audio ports of the second telephone extension to a receive audio port of the first telephone extension via a conference bridge.

41. The computer program product as recited in claim 38, further comprising the program step of recording the audio.

42. The computer program product as recited in claim 41, further comprising the program step of storing the audio in a digital format in a buffer associated with the first telephone extension.

43. The computer program product as recited in claim 37, wherein the data network is a local area network.

44. The computer program product as recited in claim 37, wherein the data network is a wide area network.

45. The computer program product as recited in claim 37, wherein the data network is an open network.

46. The computer program product as recited in claim 37, wherein the data network is the Internet.

47. The computer program product as recited in claim 37, wherein the first and second telephone extensions communicate over the data network using Internet Protocol.

48. A network comprising: a wide area network; a first router coupled to the wide area network; a first local area network coupled to the first router; a first telecommunications device coupled to the first local area network; a second router coupled to the wide area network; a second local area network coupled to the second router; a second telecommunications device coupled to the second local area network; and means for copying transmit and receive audio data of the second telecommunications device to a receive audio path of the first telecommunications device without sending transmit audio data of the first telecommunications device to a receive audio path of the second telecommunications device so that the first telecommunications device can monitor a voice conversation between the second telecommunications device and another party.

49. The network as recited in claim 48, wherein the another party is a third telecommunications device coupled to the second local area network.

50. The network as recited in claim 48, wherein the another party is a third telecommunications device coupled to the first local area network.

51. The network as recited in claim 48, wherein the third telecommunications device is coupled to the second local area network via a public switched telephone network that is coupled to the second local area network via a telecommunications server.

52. The network as recited in claim 48, wherein data communicated over the network is transferred in packets.

53. The network as recited in claim 52, wherein the network communicates data using an IP protocol.

54. The network as recited in claim 48, further comprising: a computer workstation coupled to the first local area network via the first telecommunications device; and a data server connected to the first local area network and communicating with the computer workstation.

55. The network as recited in claim 48, further comprising means for enabling the first telecommunications device to view information pertaining to the voice conversation being displayed on the second telecommunications device in real time.