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1. Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 622 days Signed and Sealed this Twenty first Day of September 2010 David J Kappos Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office2. 1992 Yamada 5 903 626 A 5 1999 Iglehart et al Continued FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS EP 1235 416 Al 8 2002 Continued OTHER PUBLICATIONS Search Report dated Apr 23 2004 Continued Primary Examiner Quoc D Tran 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Robert D Shedd Paul P Kiel 57 ABSTRACT A method and an apparatus which generates and plays diag nostic messages indicative of a media terminal adaptor pro visioning status The media terminal adaptor detects errors in its provisioning status or an out of service state Thus when the telephone connected to the media terminal adaptor is taken off hook and the media terminal adaptor that is not provisioned improperly provisioned or placed in an out of service state by the service provider the media terminal adap tor will generate an appropriate diagnostic audio voice mes sage or tone sequence to the telephone instructing the listener on how to proceed in order to resolve the problem 20 Claims 1 Drawing Sheet US 7 587 028 B1 Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS JP 2000 106573 4 2000 JP 2000 315289 11 2000 5 917 807 A 6 1999 Lee et al JP 2000 339289 12 2000 6 018 567 A 1 2000 Dulman JP 2000 354111 12 2000 6 246 671 BI 6 2001 Lattanzi et al JP 2001 223764 8 2001 6 654 722 BI 11 2003 Aldous et al JP 2001 223795 8 2001 2002 0080930 A1 6 2002 Cho uuuuuuseessenn 379 90 01 JP 2002 57724 2 2002 2002 0114439 Al 8 2002 Dunlap 2002 0159577 A1 10 2002 Va
3. of detecting when said telephone is taken off hook 15 The method according to claim 11 wherein said diag nostic message includes combined fixed voice text with dynamically generated voice text 16 The method according to claim 11 wherein said diag nostic message includes tones 17 The method according to claim 11 wherein the step of detecting said non provisioned status includes the step of detecting an out of service status of said media terminal adaptor 18 The method according to claim 11 further comprising the steps of determining a resolution to the detected non provisioned status wherein said diagnostic message is a function of said resolution 19 The method according to claim 18 further comprising the step of accessing electronic diagnostic and status information by said telephone identified in said diagnostic message 20 The method according to claim 18 further comprising the steps of determining said media terminal adaptor is provisioned and sending a dial tone to said telephone when the telephone is taken off hook UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO 7 587 028 BI Page 1 of 1 APPLICATION NO 10 533978 DATED September 8 2009 INVENTOR S Broerman et al It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below On the Title Page The first or sole Notice should read
4. the service provider the MTA will generate an appropriate diag nostic audio voice message or tone seguence to the telephone informing the user of the failure or out of order condition and instructing the listener on how to proceed in order to resolve the problem BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 illustrates a general block diagram of a media ter minal adaptor MTA in accordance with the present inven tion DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention provides several methods to indicate to the user in a readily understandable manner that the MTA 10 has not been properly configured and the steps the user should take to correct the condition for example by contact ing their service provider to resolve the issue These methods involve playing an audio sequence consisting of a voice mes sage and or a sequence of audio tones to indicate the specific problem and what to do to resolve the issue The communications by MTA 10 like cable modems with a communications network 5 such as without limitation an Internet protocol based cable network is well known There fore no further description as related to such communications ofthe MTA 10 with a communications network 5 is needed However for the sake of facilitating an understanding of certain aspects of the present invention an explanation of the MTA 10 in accordance with the present invention is described herein below Referring now to FIG 1 the
5. 10 operational with a communication network 5 would need to be checked for failure of any one provisioning step Regarding the message generation the MTA 10 will gen erate audio message from the audio message file 16 or tone seguence file 18 by various technigues One possible method is to encapsulate the audio in an RTP real time protocol RFC 1889 1890 packet stream to emulate the reception of said data from the communication network 5 In this example the audio packet stream comprises an ordered seguence of near synchronous RTP packets and is sent to the DSP 12 and the POTS endpoint circuitry 14 As with audio packets received from the communications network 5 the DSP 12 depacketizes the RTP packet stream having the audio data and places it in its inbound jitter buffer 38 for use by the speech decoder 20 The message playing is effectuated as the speech decoder 20 converts the digital pulse code modulation PCM audio data to analog samples which are reconstructed in the POTS endpoint circuitry 14 and played to the listener through the handset 54 Thus the DSP 12 POTS endpoint circuitry 14 and speech decoder 20 in combination with the audio message file 16 and tone seguence file 18 provide the means for generating and playing the provisioning error messages The existing POTS endpoint circuitry 14 and control soft ware off hook detector 26 monitor the telephone s hook state and generate the diagnostic audio message when an off
6. MTA 10 of the present inven tion includes a digital signal processor DSP 12 and plain old telephone service POTS endpoint circuitry 14 speech decoder 20 and display 22 The DSP 12 includes an input jitter buffer 38 The MTA 10 stores audible and or DTMF tone sequences in a tone sequence file 18 and audio messages in an audio message file 16 The MTA 10 also accesses a normal mode configuration file 28 for operating the MTA when properly provisioned an out of service configuration file 30 which enables the service provider to place the MTA 10 out of service a provisioning failure detector 32 and provisioning failure resolver 34 As can be appreciated the normal mode configuration file 28 defines the operational protocol of a properly provisioned MTA 10 to communicate with the communications network 5 to which it is attached The MTA 10 uses discrete LEDs or a 7 segment LED display 22 to indicate provisioning status and possibly the first provisioning step that has failed as determined by the provisioning failure detector 32 Display 22 may be used to display the provisioning status via blinking LEDs displaying the status code in a binary format etc In the present inven tion the MTA 10 also generates an audible diagnostic mes sage to the user over the attached telephone s 50 via handset 54 indicating 1 the presence of a provisioning error as determined by the provisioning failure detector 32 2 the nature of the error which p
7. age generator player generates audio mes sages and transfers said messages to the telephone 4 The apparatus according to claim 2 further comprising an off hook detector for detecting when said telephone is taken off hook 5 The apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said POTS endpoint circuitry and said off hook detector monitor a hook state of said telephone and generate the diagnostic message when an off hook condition is detected when said telephone is taken off hook 6 The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said diag nostic message includes combined fixed voice audio with dynamically generated voice audio 7 The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said diag nostic message includes tones 8 The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein when oper ating in said normal mode if said telephone is taken off hook dial tone is sent to said telephone 9 The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a provisioning error resolver for determining a resolution to the detected non provisioned status wherein said diagnostic message is a function of said resolution 10 The apparatus according to claim 9 further comprising an electronic diagnostic and status information module adapted to be accessed by said telephone 11 A method of generating and playing diagnostic mes sages by a media terminal adaptor having a telephone con nected thereto the method comprising the steps of storing at least one of a fixed or dynami
8. az United States Patent Broerman et al US007587028B1 US 7 587 028 B1 Sep 8 2009 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 75 73 21 22 86 87 60 51 52 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING AND PLAYING DIAGNOSTIC MESSAGES INDICATIVE OF MTA PROVISIONING STATUS Inventors Keith Robert Broerman Carmel IN US Glen Wakeman Ruch Indianapolis IN US Blaine Edward Ramey Indianapolis IN US David Brian Baehl Indianapolis IN US Assignee Thomson Licensing Boulogne Billancourt FR Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 475 days Appl No 10 533 978 PCT Filed Nov 12 2003 PCT No 371 01 2 4 Date PCT US03 36320 May 5 2005 PCT Pub No WO2004 045130 PCT Pub Date May 27 2004 Related U S Application Data Provisional application No 60 425 382 filed on Nov 12 2002 Int CI H04M 1 24 2006 01 H04M 3 08 2006 01 H04M 3 22 2006 01 USC iii 379 15 03 379 1 01 379 29 1 379 31 370 241 58 Field of Classification Search 379 1 01 379 15 03 21 26 01 26 02 29 01 29 08 379 31 201 12 29 1 207 04 207 08 257 370 241 252 See application file for complete search history 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 062 131 A 10 1991 Kanareetal 379 33 5 146 488 A 9 1992 Okada et al 5 150 402 A 9
9. cally generated diagnostic audio message and variable information V1 for generating the dynamic portion of the diagnostic audio message 5 0 A 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 6 detecting a non provisioned status of said media terminal adaptor and generating and playing the diagnostic audio message through said telephone indicative of the detected non provisioned status and providing corrective action to be taken by the user when an off hook condition is detected when said telephone is taken off hook 12 The method according to claim 11 wherein the step of generating and playing includes the steps of converting digital audio data to analog samples by a speed decoder reconstructing by plain old telephone service POTS endpoint circuitry the analog samples and playing the reconstructed analog samples through said telephone by the POTS endpoint circuitry when said telephone is taken off hook 13 The method according to claim 12 wherein the step of generating and playing includes the steps of generating audio messages by encapsulating audio in an real time protocol packet stream to emulate reception of data from a communications network said packet stream comprises an ordered sequence of near synchro nous packets depacketizing said packet stream and sending the depacketized packet steam to the speech decoder 14 The method according to claim 12 further comprising the step
10. ely a sequence of audio tones including a beep sequence or a series of DTMF tones or modern tones stored in the tone sequence file 18 could be played to convey the diagnostic audible message DTMF tones would be suitable for machine recognition by for example test equipment used by a field technician The MTA could detect whether the test equipment is connected for example by entering a tone mode using a predefined key sequence on the phone keypad In addition to or alternatively the telephone keypad 52 can be used to request additional diagnostic or status information from a diagnostic and status information module 36 The generated audible message can prompt the user listener to enter one or more keypad digits in order to retrieve more detailed diagnostic information or status information from such diagnostic and status information module 36 The MTA operating status information can include without limitation the current upstream and downstream frequency power level and signal to noise ratio The improved operation of the MTA 10 will now be described in detail The MTA s DSP digital signal processor 12 and POTS endpoint circuitry 14 are enabled early in the boot up sequence prior to the start of the MTA s provision ing If the MTA s provisioning is successful the MTA 10 enters its normal operating mode Thereby when the user takes the phone handset off hook which is detected by the off hook detector 26 the user li
11. ervice In this context out of service means that dial tone is not heard on the handset when the phone attached to the MTA is taken off hook Existing cable modems and MTAs use discrete light emit ting diodes LEDs or a 7 segment LED display to indicate provisioning status and possibly the first provisioning step that has failed Due to the small number of product LEDs typically 5 6 or 7 segment display and the large number of provisioning steps it is difficult to indicate the precise cause of a provisioning failure Approaches have been used to dis play the provisioning status via blinking LEDs displaying the status code in a binary format etc Many non technical con sumers are not able to easily correlate the blinking LED codes with a table in the user manual in order to resolve their specific problem As can be appreciated there is a need for a MTA that provides a diagnostic audio message that is easily under standable to the user of the MTA when a there is a provision ing failure or out or order condition Additionally there is a need to provide a message to the user that the user can easily understand with regard to correcting the provisioning failure or out of order condition SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention if a phone is taken off hook on a MTA that is not provisioned improperly 20 25 30 40 50 55 65 2 provisioned or placed in an out of service state such as by
12. filed Nov 12 2002 FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to cable modems with embedded media terminal adaptors and more particularly to a media terminal adaptor MTA that determines provisioning failure or an out of service condition and generates an appro priate diagnostic audio voice message or tone sequence through a telephone handset instructing the listener on how to proceed in order to resolve the provisioning failure or the out of service condition BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Media terminal adaptors MTAs are used to convert digital data to analog audio for telephones MTAs require a strict provisioning sequence prior to becoming operational In a PacketCable environment a total of 25 steps must be complete to become operational and 11 additional steps must be com pleted in order to establish security associations with the call agent These provisioning steps are controlled by the Multiple Service Operator MSO or Internet Service Provider ISP and are a function of the MSO Provisioning Server MTA dynamic host configuration protocol DHCP options and MTA configuration file the service provider s domain name system DNS configuration and the configuration of the service provider call agent and Kerberos Key Distribution Center KDC Failure to properly configure any of these items can leave the MTA in a non provisioned or improperly configured state which will render the MTA nonfunctional or out of s
13. hook condition is detected by lifting handset 54 As can be appreciated conventionally a telephone 50 can be taken off hook by pressing a speakerphone button Therefore the diag nostic audio message would be played through the speaker on the base of the telephone 50 Since there are numerous diagnostic audio messages describing all possible messages is prohibitive Therefore a few examples of diagnostic audio messages are described in TABLE 1 below to permit understanding of the present inven tion TABLE 1 ERROR CONDITION MESSAGE Unable to obtain IP address Your MTA cannot obtain a network address Please contact XYZ Cable Company at 317 587 3168 Thank you Your MTA requires one or more missing DHCP options Please contact XYZ Cable Company at 317 587 3168 Thank you Your MTA has been administratively disabled Please contact XYZ Cable Company at 317 587 3168 Thank you Missing DHCP options MTA is provisioned but not enabled Numerous modifications to and alternative embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description Accordingly this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art in carrying out the invention Details of the embodiment may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of all modifications which come with
14. in the scope of the appended claims is reserved What is claimed is 1 A media terminal adaptor for use in a communication network adapted to have a telephone connected thereto said media terminal adaptor comprising US 7 587 028 BI 5 communication unit for connecting to a service provider provisioning server in a normal mode when the media terminal adaptor is in a provisioned state an audio message file for storing at least one of a fixed or dynamically generated diagnostic audio message and variable information VI for generating the dynamic portion of the diagnostic audio message provisioning failure detector for detecting when the media terminal adaptor has a non provisioned status and provisioning error message generator player for generat ing and playing the diagnostic audio message through said telephone indicative of the detected non provi sioned status and providing corrective action to be taken by the user when an off hook condition is detected when said telephone is taken off hook 2 The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said provi sioning error message generator player comprises aspeech decoder for converting digital audio data to analog samples and plain old telephone service POTS endpoint circuitry for reconstructing the analog samples and playing the reconstructed analog samples through said telephone when off hook 3 The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said provi sioning error mess
15. rdietal 379 201 01 OTHER PUBLICATIONS FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS JP 5 161183 JP 6 164882 JP 6 223272 JP 6 225069 JP 6 276233 JP 7 261835 JP 10 269 107 6 1993 6 1994 8 1994 8 1994 9 1994 10 1995 10 1998 Access and Terminals AT Digital Broadband Cable Access to the Public Telecommunications Network IP Multimedia Time Critical Services Part 6 Media Terminal Adapter MTA device provision ing ETSI TS 101 909 6 ETSI Standards European Telecommuni cations Standards Institute Sophia Antipo FR vol AT Digital No V111 Jun 2001 XP014006808 ISSN 0000 0001 Supplemental European Search Report dated Feb 3 2006 cited by examiner U S Patent Sep 8 2009 US 7 587 028 B1 AUDIO MESSAGE vr ALE TONE SEQUENCE FILE 18 FILE 16 OFF HOOK DETECTOR 26 PROVISIONING NORMAL MODE CONFIGURATION FILE 28 OUT OF ORDER CONFIGURATION FILE 30 POTS ENDPOINT CIRCUITRY 14 PROVISIONING FAILURE SPEECH DETECTOR DECODER 32 20 DISPLAY 22 COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK US 7 587 028 BI 1 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING AND PLAYING DIAGNOSTIC MESSAGES INDICATIVE OF MTA PROVISIONING STATUS This application claims the benefit under 35 U S C 365 of International Application PCT US03 36320 filed Nov 12 2003 which was published in accordance with PCT Article 21 2 on May 27 2004 in English and which claims the benefit of U S provisional patent application No 60 425 382
16. rovisioning step failed and 3 what step should be taken to resolve the error as determined by the provisioning failure resolver 34 For example the error or failure detected by the provisioning failure detector 32 would be mapped to a resolution or corrective action to be taken by the user as determined by the provisioning failure resolver 34 Such corrective action would be provided to the user listener in the form of an audible message The user may US 7 587 028 BI 3 be directed to receive the diagnostic message via handset 54 by for example an indication on MTA 10 In the present invention the audible message can consist of either a voice message stored in the audio message file 16 or a sequence of audio tones stored in the tone sequence file 18 or both The voice message and or audio tone sequence can be either canned fixed stored in local non volatile memory or dynamically generated The audio clip could combine fixed voice audio with dynamically generated voice audio such as a specific telephone number to dial The variable information VI used to generate the dynamic portion of the message could be stored in non volatile memory or passed to the MTA 10 via a proprietary configuration file TLV or management information base MIB element In this way the diagnostic message can be tailored for a specific service provider ser vice provider name and telephone number location infor mation etc In addition to or alternat
17. stener hears the dial tone In other words the POTS endpoint circuitry 14 sends an audio dial tone signal to the telephone 50 On the other hand if the MTA s provisioning was not successful or if the service provider placed the MTA in an out of service state via the MTA s out of service configura tion file 30 or MTA s MIB element setting as detected by the provisioning failure detector 32 the MTA 10 will play an appropriate diagnostic audio message voice and or tone sequence when the user takes the phone off hook as detected by the off hook detector 26 As previously described provisioning of the MTA 10 requires without limitation various steps to establish secu rity associations with a call agent and those steps for establish communications with a service provider Provisioning Server using DHCP options a service provider s DNS configura tion and the configuration of the service provider call agent and or and the KDC A few examples of errors or failures detected by the provisioning failure detector 32 would include whether 1 the securing associations are established 2 the DHCP options are defined 3 the DNS configuration is defined 4 the TFTP server configuration is defined 5 the SNMP entity configuration is defined 6 the Kerberos server configuration is defined and 7 an out of service condition 0 5 30 40 45 50 55 65 4 exists Nevertheless all steps reguired to make a MTA
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