Communications system and communications method

• US 20050265320A1
• Filed: 06/17/2005
• Published: 12/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/1997
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nobutsugu Fujino, Satoru Chikuma
• Original Assignee: Nobutsugu Fujino, Satoru Chikuma
• Inventors: Fujino, Nobutsugu, Chikuma, Satoru
• Application Number:
  US11/155,834
• Publication Number:
  US 20050265320A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6486 Signalling Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2535 adapted for voice communication over an Internet Protocol [IP] network Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network equipment and services H04M7/006; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/203 composed of PSTN and data network, e.g. the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/206 composed of PSTN and wireless network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/20 with means for interrupting existing connections; with means for breaking-in on conversations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42187 Lines and connections with preferential service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/428 Arrangements for placing incoming calls on hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0057 Services where the data services network provides a telephone service in addition or as an alternative, e.g. for backup purposes, to the telephone service provided by the telephone services network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/122 where the PSTN/ISDN access is used as an access to networks other than PSTN/ISDN access arrangements to networks other than PSTN/ISDN H04M7/0066; access arrangements to public data networks H04L12/2856
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/19 Connection re-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/30 Connection release

Abstract

When voice communications are to be established using the telephone having the telephone number displayed on the application during the data communications, a temporary line disconnection unit disconnects a line being used for the data communications. The application is not notified of this, and the line is connected between the terminal and the telephone. The user on the mobile computer side can voice-communicate with the user of the telephone using the terminal. When the voice communications terminate, the temporary line disconnection unit connects the line between the fixed computer side and the mobile computer side to resume the data communications. Since the application is not notified of the temporary disconnection of the line, the session is set active and the data communications are not started from the very beginning.

Claims

1. A communications system comprising:

a server providing information;

a terminal communicating data with the server;

a communications network connecting said server to said terminal;

a temporary line disconnection unit, provided in the server and the terminal, monitoring a content of received data from the server and from the terminal, and when a specified data is received, disconnecting a line being used for data communications without issuing any disconnection notifications to an upper layer application of said terminal and said server when said terminal voice communicates with a third party other than said server through said communications network during the data communications with said server, and automatically connecting said server to said terminal when the voice communications terminate;

an automatic data fetch unit automatically fetching data of web sites including information requested by a user from said server to said terminal; and

a storage unit storing the data fetched by said automatic data fetch unit,

wherein a data communicating process is performed from a status at a point immediately before starting the voice communications when said server and said terminal resume the data communications, and

wherein said automatic data fetch unit preliminarily fetches the data obtainable from said server and stores the data in said storage unit during the data communications, and accesses said storage unit during the voice communications so that the data in said storage unit is displayed during the voice communication, thereby realizing virtual data communications during the voice communications.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein

said terminal obtains a telephone number of the third party as information during the data communications.

3. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein

said server comprises a telephone switch unit;

and

said temporary line disconnection unit temporarily disconnects a line between said server and said terminal when said terminal issue a voice communications request to the third party, connecting said telephone switch unit to telephones of the third party and said terminal, connecting two calls on a server side, thereby realizing voice communications between said terminal and the third party.

4. The communications system according to claim 3, wherein

said temporary line disconnection unit provided on the server side temporarily disconnects the line between said terminal and said server when said terminal issues a request for voice communications with the third party to said server;

and

said server, a telephone of said third party and said terminal enter a 3-point communications state based on a 3-point communication function of said telephone switch unit, thereby realizing the voice communications between said terminal and said third party.

5. The communications system according to claim 1, wherein

said temporary line disconnection unit provided on a terminal side temporarily disconnects the line when said terminal issues a request for voice communications with the third party to said server;

and

said terminal issues a voice communications call to the third party, thereby realizing the voice communications between said third terminal and said third party.

6. The communications system according to claim 1, farther comprising

at least one first unit, provided on a server side for each user who receives a service of said server, for managing personal information and communications status of each user, wherein

said temporary line disconnection unit provided on a terminal side temporarily disconnects a line between said terminal and said server according to an instruction from said first unit when said terminal issues a request for voice communications with the third party to said server;

said terminal issues a call through the voice communications to the third party, thereby realizing voice communications between said terminal and said third party,

wherein the server has an object which manages personal information, and the object communicates with an other object which is in said terminal and also manages personal information, before communication by the user, thereby said terminal can receive a call.

7. The communications system according to claim 1, further comprising:

automatic data fetch means for automatically fetching data from said server to said terminal; and

storage means for storing data fetched by said automatic data fetch means, wherein

said automatic data fetch means preliminarily fetches data obtainable while no data are received and stores the data in said storage means during the data communications, and accesses said data storage means during the voice communications, thereby realizing virtual data communications during the voice communications.

8. The communication system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a unit for receiving said automatic data fetch unit on a terminal side, wherein

said automatic data fetch unit is transmitted from a server side to the terminal side when the data communications start.

9. A communications method comprising the steps of:

(a) connecting a line from a server to a terminal for providing information for data communications with the server through a communications network;

(b) monitoring a content of received data from the server and from the terminal, and when a specified data is received, disconnecting a line being used for data communications without issuing any disconnection notifications to an upper layer application of said terminal and said server when said terminal voice communicates with a third party other than said server through said communications network during the data communications with said server, and automatically connecting said server to said terminal when the voice communications terminate;

(d) automatically fetching data of web sites including information requested by a user from said server; and

(e) storing the data fetched at step (d),

wherein said upper layer applications perform a data communicating process from a status at a point immediately before starting the voice communications when the data communications are resumed,

wherein step (b) is executed in the server and the terminal, and

wherein said steps (d) and (e) are followed during the data communications between said terminal and said server, and said data stored in step (e) is accessed during the voice communications so that said data stored in step (e) is displayed during the voice communication, thereby establishing virtual data communications during the voice communications.

10. The communications method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of:

fetching a telephone number of the third party as information by said terminal during the data communications.

11. The communications method according to claim 9, wherein

said step (b) is followed when said terminal issues a voice communications request to the third party, and two calls are connected by a telephone switch unit provided on a server side, thereby realizing voice communications between said terminal and said third party.

12. The communications method according to claim 11, wherein

said step (b) is followed on a server side when said terminal issues to said server a request to voice-communicate with the third party;

said server, a telephone of the third party, and said terminal enter a 3-point communications state based on a 3-point communications function of said telephone switch unit, thereby realizing voice communications between said terminal and the third party.

13. The communications method according to claim 9, wherein

said step (b) is followed on a terminal side when said terminal issues to said server a request to voice-communicate with the third party;

said terminal issues a call through the voice communications to the third party, thereby realizing voice communications between said terminal and the third party.

14. The communication method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of:

(c) managing personal information and communications status on a server side for each user who receives a service from said server, wherein

said terminal issues a call to the third party through the voice communications by following said step (b) based on communications state management in said step (c), thereby establishing voice communications between said terminal and said third party,

wherein the server has an object which manages personal information, and the object communicates with an other object which is in said terminal and also manages personal information, before communication by the user, thereby said terminal can receive a call.

15. A communication system comprising:

a server for providing information;

a terminal for communicating data with the server;

a communication network for connecting said server to said terminal; and

temporary line disconnection means, provided in the server and the terminal, for disconnecting a line being used for data communications without issuing any disconnection notifications to an upper layer application of said terminal and said server when said terminal voice-communicates with a third party other than said server through said communication network during the data communications with said server, and automatically connecting said server to said terminal when the voice communications terminate, wherein

a data communicating process is performed from a status at a point immediately before starting the voice communications when said server and said terminal resume the data communications.

16. The communication system according to claim 15, wherein

said terminal obtains a telephone number of the third party as information during the data communications.

17. The communications system according to claim 15, wherein

said server comprises a telephone switch unit;

and

said temporary line disconnection unit temporarily disconnects a line between said server and said terminal when said terminal issues a voice communications request to the third party, connecting said telephone switch unit to telephones of the third party and said terminal, connecting two calls on a server side, thereby realizing voice communications between said terminal and the third party.

18. The communications system according to claim 17, wherein

said temporary line disconnection unit provided on the server side temporarily disconnects the line between said terminal and said server when said terminal issues a request for voice communications with the third party to said server;

and

said server, a telephone of said third party, and said terminal enter a 3-point communications state based on a 3-point communications function of said telephone switch unit, thereby realizing the voice communications between said terminal and said third party.

19. The communication system according to claim 15, wherein

said line temporary disconnection unit provided on a terminal side temporarily disconnects the line when said terminal issues a request for voice communications with the third party to said server, and

said terminal issues a voice communications call to he third party, thereby realizing the voice communications between said terminal and said third party.

20. The communication system according to claim 15, further comprising:

at least one first unit, provided on a server side for each user who receives a service of said server, for managing personal information and communications status of each user, wherein

said temporary line disconnection unit provided on a terminal side temporarily disconnects a line between said terminal and said server according to an instruction from said first unit when said terminal issues a request for voice communications with the third party to said server;

said terminal issues a call through the voice communications to the third party, thereby realizing voice communications between said terminal and said third party,

wherein the server has an object which manages personal information, and the object communicates with an other object which is in said terminal and also manages personal information, before communication by the user, thereby said terminal can receive a call.

21. The communication system according to claim 15, further comprising:

an automatic data fetch unit automatically fetching data from said server to said terminal; and

a storage unit storing data fetched by said automatic data fetch unit, wherein

said automatic data fetch unit preliminarily fetches data obtainable from said server and stores the data in said storage unit during the data communications, and accesses said storage unit during the voice communications so that the data in said storage unit is displayed during the voice communication, thereby realizing virtual data communications during the voice communications.

22. The communications system according to claim 15, further comprising:

means for receiving said automatic data fetch unit on a terminal side, wherein

said automatic data fetch unit is transmitted from a server side to the terminal side when the data communications start.

23. A communications method comprising the steps of:

(a) connecting a line from a server to a terminal for providing information for data communications with the server through a communications network; and

(b) disconnecting the line being used for data communications without issuing any disconnection notifications to an upper layer application of said terminal and said server when said terminal voice-communicates with a third party other than said server through said communications network during the data communications with said server, and automatically connecting said server to said terminal when the voice communications terminate, wherein

said upper layer application performs a data communicating process from a status at a point immediately before starting the voice communications when the data communications are resumed.

24. The communications method according to claim 23, further comprising the step of:

fetching a telephone number of the third party as information by said terminal during the data communications.

25. The communications method according to claim 23, wherein

said step (b) is followed when said terminal issues a voice communications request to the third party, and two calls are connected by a telephone switch unit provided on a server side, thereby realizing voice communications between said terminal and said third party.

26. The communications method according to claim 25, wherein

said step (b) is followed on a server side when said terminal issues to said server a request to voice-communicate with the third party;

said server, a telephone of the third party, and the terminal enter a 3-point communications state base on a 3-point communications function of said telephone switch unit, thereby realizing voice communications between said terminal and the third party.

27. The communications method according to claim 23, further comprising the step of:

(c) managing personal information and communications status on a server side for each user who receives a service from said server, wherein

said terminal issues a call to the third party through the voice communications by following said step (b) based on communications state management in said step (c), thereby establishing voice communications between said terminal and said third party.

28. The communications method according to claim 23, further comprising the step of:

(c) managing personal information and communications status on a server side for each user who receives a service from said server, wherein

said terminal issues a call to the third party through the voice communications by following said step (b) based on communications state management in said step (c), thereby establishing voice communications between said terminal and said third party, wherein the server has an object which manages personal information, and the object communicates with an other object which is in said terminal and also manages personal information, before communication by the user, thereby said terminal can receive a call.

29. The communications method according to claim 23, further comprising the steps of:

(d) automatically fetching data from said server; and

(e) storing data fetched at step (d), wherein

said steps (d) and (e) are followed during the data communications between said terminal and said server; and

said data stored in step (e) is accessed during the voice communications so that said data stored in said step (e) is displayed during the voice communication, thereby establishing virtual data communications during the voice communications.