HYBRID PACKET-SWITCHED AND CIRCUIT-SWITCHED TELEPHONY SYSTEM

• US 20090135811A1
• Filed: 12/19/2008
• Published: 05/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/1995
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Business Global LLC (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: HUANG, Lisheng
• Granted Patent: US 8,780,890 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/563 Signalling, e.g. protocols, reference model
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5639 Tariffs or charging
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5671 Support of voice
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6424 Access arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6443 Network Node Interface, e.g. Routing, Path finding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6472 Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6475 N-ISDN, Public Switched Telephone Network [PSTN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6481 Speech, voice
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6486 Signalling Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/55 for hybrid networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/56 for VoIP communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/202 VoIP; Packet switched telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2046 Hybrid network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/428 Arrangements for placing incoming calls on hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1245 where a network other than PSTN/ISDN interconnects two PSTN/ISDN networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0478 Provisions for broadband connections

Abstract

A hybrid telephony system with packet switching as well as circuit switching optimizes utilization of transport networks, and is accessible from any conventional telephone set. A call originating from a circuit-switched network is passed through a gateway computer to a backbone packet-switched network, and then through a second gateway computer to a second circuit-switched network where it terminates. The voice of both the originating party and the terminating party is converted to data packets by the near-end gateway computer and then converted back to voice by the far-end gateway computer. In an alternative scenario, the originating party uses a computer on the packet-switched network, which replaces the originating circuit-switched network and the originating computer. Powered by CPUs, DSPs, ASICs disks, telephony interfaces, and packet network interfaces, the gateway computers may have media conversion modules, speech processing modules and routing resolution modules, and are capable of translating telephony call signaling as well as voice between circuit-switched and packet-switched networks. Optionally, the gateway computers may also have analog trunking modules, MF and DTMF digit modules and special services modules, in order to support analog circuit-switched networks and secure telephone calls.

Claims

1. A telecommunications system comprising:

an originating circuit-switched network for providing originating signals in response to voice input,

an originating gateway computer for converting said originating signals into digital data packets,

a terminating gateway computer that accepts out of band signaling and converts said digital data packets into terminating signals,

a terminating circuit-switched network for providing voice output in response to said terminating signals, and

a packet-switched network for transmitting said digital data packets from said originating gateway computer to said terminating gateway computer, at least one of said originating gateway computer or said terminating gateway computer comprising a component for routing said digital data packets through said packet-switched network from said originating gateway computer to said terminating gateway computer;

wherein said terminating circuit-switched network is capable of providing first return signals to said terminating gateway computer in response to return voice input,

wherein said terminating gateway computer comprises a component for converting said first return signals into return packets of return digital data,

wherein at least one of said originating gateway computer or said terminating gateway computer comprises a component for routing said return packets through said packet-switched network from said terminating gateway computer to said originating gateway computer,

and wherein said originating gateway computer comprises a component for converting said return packets into second return signals.

4-20. -20. (canceled)