Multiplex communications – Pathfinding or routing – Combined circuit switching and packet switching
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-09
2002-04-23
Patel, Ajit (Department: 2663)
Multiplex communications
Pathfinding or routing
Combined circuit switching and packet switching
C370S356000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06377570
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to Internet telephony, i.e., placing telephone calls over a specific secondary network, such as the Internet, by way of a standard telephone connection using the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
The technique of using the Internet to carry on telephone communications is commonly referred to as Internet Telephony (IT) or, sometimes, Voice on the Net (VON). IT is a way to communicate over the Internet that bypasses PSTN toll connections. IT can be advantageous for individuals and businesses that need or want to communicate extensively with others outside of their local calling areas, especially to frequently called numbers.
IT is typically accomplished by what is commonly referred to as Personal Computer-Based Internet Telephony (PCIT). PCIT allows users with properly equipped personal computers to complete long distance telephone calls to one another over the Internet without incurring a toll charge. To do so, the users must have personal computers that are multimedia capable in terms of possessing a sound card, sufficient processing power, a high quality microphone, an adequate modem (preferably 14.4 or faster) and the same specialized software programs, as well as an account with an online service or Internet service provider (ISP) for connection to the Internet via SLIP (the serial-line Internet protocol) or PPP (the point-to-point protocol). Current PCIT techniques are not compatible with shell accounts, which are accounts in which a user logs on through terminal emulation to a remote machine running Unix or the like and accesses the Internet through that remote machine in text mode by typing commands at a prompt.
Several PCIT software packages are on the market. These packages are mutually incompatible; two users wishing to make a PCIT connection must have the same software package. Popular PCIT software packages include those marketed under the names “Iphone” and “Web Phone.”
The “Web Phone” software works in the following manner. The users wishing to speak to each other must both be online for the communication to take place, although they can arrange beforehand to be online at the same time.
Both users run the software, and the software packages on both computers seek each other by referring to each other's Internet protocol (IP) addresses. An IP address can be static, meaning that each user is assigned a single permanent IP address, or dynamic, meaning that a user is assigned a different IP address every time that user logs on. If the users both have static Internet protocol addresses, they can simply store each other's IP addresses beforehand. However, many users, including virtually all users of less expensive ISP's and of online services such as America Online, have dynamic IP addresses. Therefore, before the users can connect to each other, they must log onto a common server so that each one can find out the dynamic IP address which has been assigned to the other user. Either way, once the users have each other's IP addresses, the software packages can communicate with each other over TCP/IP (transfer control protocol/Internet protocol) ports
21845
,
21846
and
21847
.
Sound originating on one end is digitized via the microphone and sound card, compressed, and transmitted to the other end as packets over the Internet using TCP/IP, where the packets are decompressed and converted back into sound via the sound card and speakers.
There are, however, disadvantages associated with the present state of IT or VON. Besides the hardware requirements and the difficulty that many users have with configuring their computers to achieve SLIP or PPP connections to their ISPs, until such time as PCIT vendors can agree on standards, the requirement that both users have the same software to communication with each other will remain. Not only is the hardware described above expensive, but extensive knowledge of computers and the Internet is also required, making IT intimidating to a majority of the population who would otherwise like to take advantage of this capability. There are other disadvantages to PCIT. Its users need to prearrange a time to call each other because both parties must take proactive measures to connect the call and thereby converse with each other.
Internet Telephony also sometimes refers to a new service being planned whereby individuals or businesses may use or pre-subscribe to a special access number and place their long distance telephone calls by way of a long distance carrier who uses the Internet to carry the calls. This service eliminates most of the disadvantages of PCIT, but also eliminates most of the advantages, in that toll and/or usage type charges still apply.
Devices are known for allowing PCIT by letting users initiate a conversation over the PSTN and switching to IT. Such devices exchange information relating to their IP addresses during the PSTN phase of the call so that the IT phase of the call can be completed. However, in such devices, the modem may be set or initialized twice, once for the PSTN phase of the call to exchange the IP address information and once for the IT phase of the call to connect to the Internet. Setting the modems twice is time-consuming. Also, such devices cannot be used for calls which take place entirely by way of IT, since they have no way of exchanging the IP address related information to locate each other.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to allow a user to make telephone calls via the Internet without a need for an expensive multimedia-capable personal computer.
It is another object of the invention to allow a user to make telephone calls via the Internet without a need to configure such a computer for a SLIP or PPP connection to the Internet.
It is a further object of the invention to allow a user to select a route for a telephone call (the Internet, the conventional PSTN, a dedicated network, etc.) and to use a single device for the call regardless of which route is selected.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a device and method for Internet telephony which are easy to use, do not require a computer and offer superb voice quality.
To these and other ends, the present invention is directed to a terminal device or Internet switch box (ISB) for connecting a first telephone set and a second telephone set over a selected one of a primary network and a secondary network, the switch box comprising: primary network connecting means for connecting the first telephone set to the primary network; secondary network connecting means for connecting the first telephone set to the secondary network and for establishing a connection over the secondary network between the first telephone set and the second telephone set; relay means for (i) connecting, when the relay means is in a first state, the first telephone set to the primary network connecting means and for (ii) connecting, when the relay means is in a second state, the first telephone set to the secondary network connecting means; and switching means for receiving a switch-over command to switch from the primary network to the secondary network and for controlling, in response to the switch-over command, (i) the relay means to disconnect the first telephone set from the primary network connecting means and to connect the first telephone set to the secondary network connecting means and (ii) the secondary network connecting means to establish the connection over the secondary network between the first telephone set and the second telephone set.
A relatively inexpensive interface device, referred to as an Internet switch box (ISB), is connected to or integrated within the telephone. While the user must possess access to the Internet either directly or via an Internet Service Provider (ISP) in order to use the ISB, the user will not be subject to toll charges other than those incurred using the PSTN to establish the Internet telephone call. The user does not need to understand how a computer works or how to use any PCIT s
Vaziri Faramarz
Wimsatt John D.
FoneFriend Systems, Inc.
Patel Ajit
LandOfFree
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