Lucent Technologies Inc.

At&t Bell Laboratories

American Telephone & Telegraph Co., At&t Bell Laboratories

Michael J Morgan

Wu-Hon F Leung

Shi-Chuan Tu

Steven Lloyd Greenspan

Timothy Jerome Scale

Gottfried W Luderer

Joel M Marks

Raymond Eugene Bright, Jr

Seymour Bloom

Brian George Beuning

Philip R Roberts

Bruce Fat Wong

A system for employing a computer to control a device to provide a plurality of services for a plurality of entities. Each entity corresponds to exactly one of the services and each service has its own copy of the code which defines the service. The system associates a process which executes the service with each service. The code for a service defines a finite state machine which is continually executed by the service's process. While in a given state, the finite state machine may traverse a decision graph which is directly accessible to the process. Actions to be taken on traversal of a node of the decision graph may be defined in the finite state machine. The service's process communicates with other processes and with itself by means of interprocess messages. Each state of the finite state machine contains event handlers for responding to messages received by the service's process. The finite state machine is defined by a special language, the service, logi language, and the decision graphs are defined by means of a graphical editor. The compiler for the service logic language produces not only C++ code defining the finite state machine, but also data base and shell scripts which are used to provision and maintain the services. An embodiment of the system is disclosed which is used in a service node of a telephone switching network to provide telephone services such as 800 number service, caller ID, and the like.

Switch control methods and apparatus

Control of communication by a plurality of devices, such as computer programs and terminals, via a computer is controlled by an arrangement referred to as a connector. The connector receives a request for communication defining the devices to the communication and, in response to the request, establishes a mapping table defining the source devices and destination devices to the connection. A source device stores data in connector memory and the connector reads the mapping table to determine the destination devices for the stored data. The connector then creates a linked list coupling structure between the stored data and the determined destination devices. The destination devices issue read commands to which the connector responds by reading the stored data in accordance with the coupling structure and providing that data to the requesting device.

Method for distributing messages through a mapping table which includes

A packet switch arrangement in which a first plurality of user devices is connected to a packet network by a first interface unit and a second plurality of user devices is connected to the packet network by a second interface unit. A virtual circuit is established between the interface units and control information is exchanged over the virtual circuit. The control information defines virtual channels on the virtual circuit and ones of the first and second pluralities of user devices which are to be sources and destinations for data in the defined virtual channels. Data from user devices is packetized and transmitted in the virtual channels by the interface units in accordance with the exchanged control information. Further, packets received in virtual channels on the virtual circuit are distributed to user devices by the interface units in accordance with exchanged control information.

Multi-media virtual circuit

Growing community of inventors

Warrenville, IL, United States of America

Michael J Morgan