Employing a look-up service and a callee connection service to establish a network phone call between a caller and a callee

• US 6,192,044 B1
• Filed: 03/31/1997
• Issued: 02/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Mack, Walter
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Chi H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Duong, Frank
• Application Number:
  US08/829,608
• Time in Patent Office: 1,422 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88, 379/89, 379/90.01, 379/201, 379/202, 379/207, 379/220, 370/259, 370/260, 370/401, 370/352, 370/353, 370/354, 370/355, 370/356, 370/357, 370/380, 370/463
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4541 Directories for service discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4547 for personal communications, i.e. using a personal identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4557 Directories for hybrid networks, e.g. including telephone numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• 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: H04M 7/128 Details of addressing, directories or routing tables

Abstract

The invention includes to establishing a network phone call connection between a caller and a callee. The network includes a caller connected to the network through a first network access provider. The callee is connectable to the network through one of a first or a second network access provider. A network phone call connection between the caller and callee may be established by creating a look-up service and a callee connection service. Subsequent to the creation of the look-up service and the callee connection service, the invention determines whether the callee is connected to the network. If yes, a network phone call connection to the callee is established. If no, the look-up service and callee connection service is employed to connect the callee to network. Then, once this is done, a network phone call connection to the callee is established.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

presenting a look-up service;

presenting a universal locator service;

presenting a caller adapted to be coupled to and adapted to be connected with a network and adapted to be connected with the universal locator service and the look-up service;

presenting a callee network access provider having a callee connection service, the callee network access provider adapted to be coupled to and adapted to be connected with the network, wherein the callee connection service is adapted to initiate log-in procedures with the callee to connect to the callee to the callee network access provider;

presenting the callee adapted to be coupled to the callee network access provider;

determining that the callee is not connected to the network by verifying that the universal locator service does not include a destination network address of a callee; and

employing the look-up service and the callee connection service to establish a network phone call connection between the caller and callee, wherein employing the look-up service and the callee connection service to establish a network phone call connection between the caller and callee includes transmitting from the look-up service to the caller (i) a telephone number of the callee and (ii) an identity of the callee network access provider.

2. The method of claim 1, the callee network access provider further having a connect subscriber service, and wherein the callee network access provider does not include the look-up service.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein employing the look-up service and the callee connection service to establish a network phone call connection between the caller and callee includes employing the look-up service and the callee connection service to connect the callee to the network.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein connecting the callee to the network through the callee network access provider includes employing the callee connection service to initiate log-in procedures with the callee, the method further comprising:

assigning the callee a destination network address; and

registering the destination network address with a universal locator service.

5. The method of claim 3

wherein employing the look-up service and the callee connection service to connect the callee to the network further includes

employing the identity of the callee network access provider to transmit from the caller to the callee connection service a request to establish a network phone call connection between the caller and callee,

in response to receiving the request to establish a network phone call connection between the caller and callee, transmitting a call from the callee connection service to the callee,

determining whether the callee answers the call from the callee connection service, and

if the callee does answers the call from the callee connection service, employing the callee connection service to initiate log-in procedures with the callee to connect to the callee to the callee network access provider.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein determining whether the callee accepts the call from the callee connection service includes determining at the callee whether the call from the callee connection service includes one of a distinctive ring and a specific caller identification.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein determining whether the callee accepts the call from the callee connection service includes determining at the callee whether the call from the callee connection service is to a phone number dedicated by the callee to receive only calls from the callee connection service.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein prior to transmitting from the look-up service to the caller (i) a telephone number of the callee and (ii) an identity of the callee network access provider, the method further comprising:

receiving at the look-up service a callee identifier; and

obtaining the telephone number of the callee and the identity of the callee network access provider by querying an association table with the callee identifier, wherein the association table is connected with the look-up service.

9. The method of claim 5, prior to transmitting a call from the callee connection service to the callee, the method further comprising:

launching a telephony application at the callee;

employing the telephony application to determine whether an call incoming to the callee is from the callee connection service; and

if the telephony application determines that the incoming call is from the callee connection service, then answering the call at the callee.

10. A method comprising:

presenting a look-up service;

presenting a universal locator service;

presenting a caller adapted to be coupled to and adapted to be connected with a network and adapted to be connected with the universal locator service and the look-up service;

presenting a callee network access provider having a callee connection service and a connect subscriber service, the callee network access provider adapted to be coupled to and adapted to be connected with the network, wherein the callee connection service is adapted to initiate log-in procedures with the callee to connect to the callee to the callee network access provider;

presenting the callee adapted to be coupled to the callee network access provider;

determining that the callee is not connected to the network by verifying that the universal locator service does not include a destination network address of a callee; and

employing the look-up service and the callee connection service to establish a network phone call connection between the caller and callee, wherein employing the look-up service and the callee connection service to establish a network phone call connection between the caller and callee includes

transmitting from the look-up service to the caller (i) a telephone number of the callee and (ii) an identity of the callee network access provider,

employing the identity of the callee network access provider to transmit from the caller to the callee connection service a request to establish a network phone call connection between the caller and callee,

in response to receiving the request to establish a network phone call connection between the caller and callee, transmitting a call from the callee connection service to the callee,

determining whether the callee answers the call from the callee connection service, and

if the callee does answers the call from the callee connection service, employing the callee connection service to initiate log-in procedures with the callee to connect to the callee to the callee network access provider.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein determining whether the callee accepts the call from the callee connection service includes determining at the callee whether the call from the callee connection service includes one of a distinctive ring and a specific caller identification.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein determining whether the callee accepts the call from the callee connection service includes determining at the callee whether the call from the callee connection service is to a phone number dedicated by the callee to receive only calls from the callee connection service.