1. A method for associating packets or traffic flows with service functions to be applied thereto, comprising:
determining, by a network element receiving a plurality of packets or traffic flows, a respective service function for each of said plurality of packets or traffic flows, each service function indicative of one or more services to be applied to a respective packet or traffic flow;
adapting, by said network element, a Traffic Data Flow (TDF) identifier of each packet or traffic flow to include data indicative of the respective service function; and
forwarding each packet or traffic flow toward services delivery equipment (SDE).
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising
identifying, at said network element, each of said plurality of received packets or traffic flows; and
generating, for each identified packet or traffic flow, a corresponding TDF identifier.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of identifying is performed using deep packet inspection (DPI) of traffic received at said network element.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said network element is configured to perform a Policy Control Enforcement Function (PCEF).
5. The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving, at said network element, policy information from a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), wherein said service functions are determined in accordance with said policy information.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein said policy information from said PCRF comprises one or more Service Function Name References (SFNRs), where each SFNR identifies one or more services to be applied to a respective type of packet or data flow.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein said SFNR further identifies a sequence for applying each of a plurality of services to said respective type of packet or data flow.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein each of said one or more services identified within said SFNR is associated with a respective bit pattern, and wherein the bit patterns associated with each of a plurality of services is arranged in a manner indicative of a sequence for applying said plurality of services to said respective type of packets or data flow.
9. The method of claim 6, wherein a type of packet or data flow may be defined according to one or more of: ingress, egress, application, customer, source, destination and service quality.
10. The method of claim 5, wherein said policy information from said PCRF comprises a Network Service Chain (NSC) AVP providing criteria for determining network services to be applied to packets or data flows.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising forwarding, by said network element, packets or data flows returned from said SDE toward respective destination addresses.
12. The method of claim 5, further comprising forwarding, toward said PCRF, service charge information associated with said packets or data flows forwarded toward said SDE.
13. The method of claim 5, further comprising:
forwarding, by said network element, packets or data flows returned from said SDE toward respective destination addresses; and
forwarding, toward said PCRF, service charge information associated with said packets or data flows returned from said SDE.
14. The method of claim 5, wherein said service functions are further determined in accordance with Radio Access Network (RAN) congestion information.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein said RAN congestion information is received by said network element via one or both of a command level and a Policy Control and Charging (PCC) level.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein said RAN congestion information defines a plurality of congestion levels suitable, said service functions being adapted in accordance with policies associated with said congestion levels.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein said ran congestion information is included within a Network Services Header (NSH) associated with a packet or traffic flow.
18. An apparatus for associating packets or traffic flows with service functions to be applied thereto, the apparatus comprising:
a processor and a memory, the processor configured for:
determining, by a network element receiving a plurality of packets or traffic flows, a respective service function for each of said plurality of packets or traffic flows, each service function indicative of one or more services to be applied to a respective packet or traffic flow;
adapting, by said network element, a Traffic Data Flow (TDF) identifier of each packet or traffic flow to include data indicative of the respective service function; and
forwarding each packet or traffic flow toward services delivery equipment (SDE).
19. A tangible and non-transient computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a computer, adapt the operation of the computer to provide a method for associating packets or traffic flows with service functions to be applied thereto, comprising:
determining, by a network element receiving a plurality of packets or traffic flows, a respective service function for each of said plurality of packets or traffic flows, each service function indicative of one or more services to be applied to a respective packet or traffic flow;
adapting, by said network element, a Traffic Data Flow (TDF) identifier of each packet or traffic flow to include data indicative of the respective service function; and
forwarding each packet or traffic flow toward services delivery equipment (SDE).
20. A computer program product wherein computer instructions, when executed by a processor in a telecom network element, adapt the operation of the telecom network element to provide a method for associating packets or traffic flows with service functions to be applied thereto, comprising:
determining, by a network element receiving a plurality of packets or traffic flows, a respective service function for each of said plurality of packets or traffic flows, each service function indicative of one or more services to be applied to a respective packet or traffic flow;
adapting, by said network element, a Traffic Data Flow (TDF) identifier of each packet or traffic flow to include data indicative of the respective service function; and
forwarding each packet or traffic flow toward services delivery equipment (SDE).
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system for use in a POS environment, comprising:
a system housing having horizontal and vertical housing sections;
wherein said horizontal housing section has a horizontal imaging window, and contains a first plurality of coplanar illumination and imaging stations, for generating and projecting a first group of coplanar illumination and imaging planes through said horizontal imaging window; and
a vertical housing section has a vertical imaging window, and contains a second plurality of coplanar illumination and imaging stations for generating and projecting second group of coplanar illumination and imaging planes through said vertical imaging window, which intersects with said first complex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes within a 3D imaging volume definable relative to said horizontal and vertical imaging windows, so as to generate a complex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes within said 3D imaging volume, capable of omni-directional imaging of each object passing through said 3D imaging volume, and generating digital linear images of said object as said object intersects coplanar illumination and imaging planes within said 3D imaging volume during system operation.
2. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 1, which further comprises an object motion detection subsystem for automatically detecting the motion of said object passing through said 3D imaging volume, and generating motion data representative of said detected object motion within said 3D imaging volume.
3. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 1, wherein each said coplanar illumination and imaging station includes
(i) an illumination subsystem having a linear illumination array including a plurality of light emitting devices for producing a planar illumination beam (PLIB), and
(ii) an image formation and detection subsystem including a linear image detection array having optics providing a field of view (FOV) on said linear image detection array, and extending substantially along said PLIB so as to form one said coplanar illumination and imaging plane (PLIBFOV) that is projected through said imaging window and into said 3D imaging volume, for capturing linear digital images of objects moving through said 3D imaging volume, and subsequent processing to read information graphically represented in said linear digital images;
(iii) an automatic illumination control subsystem for controlling the production of illumination by said illumination subsystem into said 3D imaging volume, as said objects are detected moving within said 3D imaging volume; and
(iv) an image capturing and buffering subsystem for capturing and buffering linear digital images from said linear image detection array.
4. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 3 wherein said each said coplanar illumination and imaging station further comprises:
(v) a local control subsystem for controlling operations within said coplanar illumination and imaging station using control data derived from said motion data generated by said object motion detection subsystem.
5. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 2, wherein said object motion detection subsystem comprises a plurality of imaging-based motion detectors deployed within said system, for detecting the presence and motion of objects within said 3D imaging volume.
6. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 5, wherein each said imaging-based object motion detector comprises an area-type image acquisition subsystem and an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip to support high-speed digital image capture and processing operations required for real-time object motion detection in said system.
7. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 5, wherein each said imaging-based object motion detector comprises an linear-type image acquisition subsystem and an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip to support high-speed digital image capture and processing operations required for real-time object motion detection in said system.
8. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 2, wherein said object motion detection subsystem comprises at least one IR-based LIDAR subsystem having an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip to support high-speed digital image capture and processing operations required for real-time object motion detection in said system.
9. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 2, wherein said object motion detection subsystem comprises a plurality of IR-based object motion sensors each having an IR LED and optics for producing an amplitude modulated (AM) IR light beam within said 3D imaging volume, and an IR photodiode for synchronously detecting the IR light beam reflected from an object within said 3D imaging volume.
10. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 2, wherein said object motion detection subsystem comprises one or more imaging-based motion detectors, each being deployed at each said coplanar illuminating and imaging station, for detecting the presence and motion of objects within said 3D imaging volume.
11. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 10, wherein said imaging-based object motion detector comprises an area-type image acquisition subsystem and an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip to support high-speed digital image capture and processing operations required for real-time object motion detection in said system.
12. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 10, wherein said imaging-based object motion detector comprises an linear-type image acquisition subsystem and an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip to support high-speed digital image capture and processing operations required for real-time object motion detection in said system.
13. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 2, wherein said object motion detection subsystem comprises an IR-based LIDAR subsystem deployed at each said coplanar illuminating and imaging station, and having an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip to support high-speed digital image capture and processing operations required for real-time object motion detection at said coplanar illuminating and imaging station.
14. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 1, wherein said object motion detection subsystem comprises an IR-based object motion detector deployed at each said coplanar illuminating and imaging station, and having an IR LED and optics for producing an amplitude modulated (AM) IR light beam within said 3D imaging volume, and an IR photodiode for synchronously reflected signals reflected from objects within said 3D imaging volume.
15. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of light emitting devices comprises a linear array of incoherent light sources.
16. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 15, wherein said linear array of incoherent light sources comprises an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs).
17. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of light emitting devices comprises a linear array of coherent light sources.
18. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 13, wherein said linear array of coherent light sources comprises an array of visible laser diodes (VLDs).
19. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 1, wherein said linear image detection array comprises an image sensing array selected from the group of a CMOS image sensing array and a CCD image sensing array.
20. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 3, wherein said image capturing and buffering subsystem captures and buffers series of said linear digital images and composes area-type (2D) digital images of said object graphically representing information therein.
21. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 20, which further comprises a digital image processing subsystem, cooperating with said image capturing and buffering subsystems, for processing said area-type (2D) digital images of said object and recognizing information graphically represented in said area-type digital images.
22. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 21, wherein said processing said area-type (2D) digital images of said object comprises decode processing said area-type digital images so as to read one or more code symbols graphically represented in said area-type digital images.
23. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 22, wherein said one or more code symbols comprise one or more bar code symbols selected from the group consisting of 1D bar code symbols, 2D bar code symbols and data matrix type bar code symbols.
24. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 1, which further comprises at least one area-type illumination and imaging station disposed in said horizontal housing, for generating and projecting an area-type illumination and imaging zone through said imaging window, and intersecting with said complex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes within said 3D imaging volume, for supporting said omni-directional digital imaging of objects passing through said 3D imaging volume.
25. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 1, which further comprises at least one area-type illumination and imaging station disposed in said vertical housing, for generating and projecting an area-type illumination and imaging zone through said imaging window, and intersecting with said complex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes within said 3D imaging volume, for supporting said omni-directional digital imaging of objects passing through said 3D imaging volume.
26. The omni-directional digital image capturing and processing system of claim 1, which further comprises at least one area-type illumination and imaging station disposed in said horizontal housing, for generating and projecting a first area-type illumination and imaging zone through said imaging window, and intersecting with said complex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes within said 3D imaging volume, and at least one area-type illumination and imaging station disposed in said vertical housing, for generating and projecting an area-type illumination and imaging zone through said imaging window, and intersecting with said complex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes within said 3D imaging volume.