Communications terminal, a system and a method for internet/network telephony

• US 20090103513A1
• Filed: 05/13/2008
• Published: 04/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Buffalo Patents, LLC, Nextlink.To A/S
• Original Assignee: Nextlink Patent AB
• Inventors: Hansen, Lars Stenfeldt, Hein-Magnussen, Jon, Kuhlmann, Peer
• Granted Patent: US 8,107,449 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/349
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/085 specially adapted for interworking of IP-based networks with other networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• 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 1/271 controlled by voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6041 Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/725 Cordless telephones user interfaces specially adapted therefor H04M1/724
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A communication terminal for Internet telephony is provided that handles and control communication of data in accordance with a standardized network protocol and exchanges data with a connecting unit connected to the Internet where the resulting data exchanged between the terminal and a connecting unit consist of packets in a standardized protocol data packet format embedded in a wireless format. This provides a communications terminal which uses a network or the Internet for the transfer of digitized speech, etc., thereby achieving great economic savings. Also, the flexibility is increased with respect to wireless communication with the network or the Internet without any need for specialized equipment and functionality.

Claims

1. A wireless communication device comprising:

an audio unit that reproduces sound based on a first electrical signal, and produces a second electrical signal based on sound being input into the audio unit;

a conversion unit that converts the second electrical signal into transmission data in a suitable format, and converts received data from the transmission data into the first electrical signal;

a protocol unit connected at least to the conversion unit, the protocol unit controlling communication of the transmission data and the received data in accordance with a network protocol, the protocol unit embedding the transmission data into a data packet format according to the network protocol, and extracting the received data from the data packet format according to the network protocol; and

a wireless near field communications unit connected to at least the protocol unit, wherein the wireless near field communications unit sends the received data to the protocol unit, receives the transmission data from the protocol unit, embeds the transmission data that is in the data packet format and that is received from the protocol unit into a wireless second data format, extracts the received data that is in the data packet format from the wireless second data format, and communicates the transmission data embedded in the wireless second data format or the received data embedded in the wireless second data format, through wireless near field communication, with a connecting unit in the wireless second data format for transmission of the transmission data and the received data, the connecting unit establishing a connection to a network according to the standardized protocol,

whereby the resulting data exchanged between the wireless near field communication unit and the connecting unit include packets in the data packet format embedded in the wireless second data format, and the resulting data exchanged between the wireless near field communication unit and the connecting unit includes at least one of a received call and a transmitted call.

2. The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication device is a headset comprising:

a housing comprising the converting unit, the wireless near field communication unit, and the protocol unit;

an earpiece secured for reproducing sound on the basis of the first electrical signal, the earpiece being secured to the housing; and

a brace secured to the housing at one end and with a sound capturing unit for capturing sound for transmission in the form of the second electrical signal located at the other end of the brace.

3. The wireless communication device of claim 1, being an ear telephone that comprises means for capturing sound for a recording via the cheek-bone and the soft tissue in the auditory canal of a user.

4. The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the received call and the transmitted call involves speech communication between at least two persons.

5. The wireless communication device of claim 4, wherein the speech communication between the at least two persons involves the at least two persons conversing.

6. The wireless communication device of claim 5, being at least one of:

a cellular telephone; and

a mobile telephone.

7. The wireless communication device of claim 1, being at least one of:

a cellular telephone; and

a mobile telephone.

8. The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the wireless second data format corresponds to a WiFi or IEEE 802.11 format.