Internet switch box, system and method for internet telephony

• US 6,377,570 B1
• Filed: 03/09/1998
• Issued: 04/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fonefriend Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Vaziri, Faramarz, Wimsatt, John D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ajit
• Application Number:
  US09/029,839
• Time in Patent Office: 1,506 Days
• Field of Search: 370/352, 370/353, 370/354, 370/355, 370/356, 370/357, 370/358, 370/477, 370/521, 375/240
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6429 Terminal adapters
• 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: H04L 65/102 Gateways arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways, H04L12/66
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• 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 15/49 Connection to several service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/51 for resellers, retailers or service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/55 for hybrid networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/56 for VoIP communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0168 On line or real-time flexible customization or negotiation according to wishes of subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0176 Billing arrangements using internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/202 VoIP; Packet switched telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/44 Charging/billing arrangements for connection made over different networks, e.g. wireless and PSTN, ISDN, etc.
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/46 : Connection to several service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/54 : Resellers-retail or service providers billing, e.g. agreements with telephone service operator, activation, charging/recharging of accounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/428 : Arrangements for placing incoming calls on hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 : comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5307 : for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 : Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/537 : Arrangements for indicating the presence of a recorded message , whereby the presence information might include a preview or summary of the message
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 : Multimedia conference systems
• 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 7/0069 : comprising a residential gateway, e.g. those which provide an adapter for POTS or ISDN terminals
• 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: H04Q 3/72 : Finding out and indicating number of calling subscriber

Abstract

An Internet switch box connects between a telephone set and a public switched telephone network (PSTN) line, the latter of which is used both for PSTN telephone conversations and for connection to an Internet service provider (ISP). The switch box contains hardware and embedded software for establishing a connection to an ISP and for Internet telephone. When two users, each having an Internet switch box connected to the telephone set, wish to have an Internet telephone conversation, one calls the other over the PSTN. When they agree to an Internet telephone conversation, they signal their Internet switch boxes, by pressing either buttons on the switch boxes or certain keys on the telephone keypads, to switch to Internet telephone. The switch boxes disconnect the PSTN call and connect to their ISPs. Once the switch boxes are on the Internet, they contact each other through a server which supplies Internet protocol (IP) addresses of switch boxes, and the users continue their conversation by Internet telephone. The users can also prearrange to call each other solely by Internet telephone, in which case they do not need to talk to each other over the PSTN.

Claims

1. A switch box 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, for receiving address information from the secondary network to locate the second telephone set on 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.

2. A switch box as in claim 1, wherein the switching means comprises:

a button on the switch box; and

means for receiving the switch-over command through actuation of the button.

3. A switch box as in claim 1, wherein the switching means comprises means for monitoring the first telephone set to receive the switch-over command through the first telephone set.

4. A switch box as in claim 1, wherein the primary network connecting means comprises means for providing a passive pass-through connection between the first telephone set and the primary network.

5. A switch box as in claim 4, wherein:

the primary network is an analog circuit-switched telephone network;

the secondary network is a digital packet-switched data network; and

the secondary network connecting means comprises means for (i) connecting the first telephone set to the digital packet-switched data network, (ii) connecting the first telephone set to the second telephone set over the digital packet-switched data network and (iii) exchanging packets representing voice signals between the first telephone set and the second telephone set over the digital packet-switched data network.

6. A switch box as in claim 4, wherein the secondary network connecting means comprises:

a microprocessor for controlling the connection over the secondary network between the first telephone set and the second telephone set;

memory means for storing embedded software for execution by the microprocessor;

modem means for permitting communication between the microprocessor and the secondary network; and

signal processing means for converting between the voice signals and the packets.

7. A switch box as in claim 6, wherein the signal processing means comprises a vocoder.

8. A switch box as in claim 6, wherein the signal processing means comprises a digital signal processor.

9. A switch box as in claim 6, wherein the embedded software comprises software for the microprocessor to store identifying information in the memory means regarding the second telephone set, the identifying information being used to retrieve the address information.

10. A switch box as in claim 9, wherein the identifying information regarding the second telephone set comprises a telephone number identifying the second telephone set.

45. A switch box as in claim 5, wherein said analog circuit-switched network is the PSTN and said digital packet-switched data network is the Internet.

11. A system for communication over a selected one of a primary network and a secondary network, the system comprising a plurality of switch boxes, each for connection to a telephone set, each of the plurality of switch boxes comprising:

primary network connecting means for connecting the telephone set to the primary network;

secondary network connecting means for connecting the telephone set to the secondary network, for receiving address information from the secondary network to locate another telephone set connected to another switch box from among the plurality of switch boxes and for establishing a connection over the secondary network between the telephone set and said other telephone set;

relay means for (i) connecting, when the relay means is in a first state, the telephone set to the primary network connecting means and for (ii) connecting, when the relay means is in a second state, the 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 telephone set from the primary network connecting means and to connect the 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 telephone set and the other telephone set.

12. A system as in claim 11, wherein the switching means comprises:

a button on the switch box; and

means for receiving the switch-over command through actuation of the button.

13. A system as in claim 11, wherein the switching means comprises means for monitoring the telephone set to receive the switch-over command through the telephone set.

14. A system as in claim 11, wherein the primary network connecting means comprises means for providing a passive pass-through connection between the telephone set and the primary network.

15. A system as in claim 14, wherein:

the primary network is an analog circuit-switched telephone network;

the secondary network is a digital packet-switched data network; and

the secondary network connecting means comprises means for (i) connecting the telephone set to the digital packet-switched data network, (ii) connecting the telephone set to the other telephone set over the digital packet-switched data network and (iii) exchanging packets representing voice signals between the telephone set and the other telephone set over the digital packet-switched data network.

16. A system as in claim 14, wherein the secondary network connecting means comprises:

a microprocessor for controlling the connection over the secondary network between the telephone set and the other telephone set;

memory means for storing embedded software for execution by the microprocessor;

modem means for permitting communication between the microprocessor and the secondary network; and

signal processing means for converting between the voice signals and the packets.

17. A system as in claim 16, wherein the signal processing means comprises a vocoder.

18. A system as in claim 16, wherein the signal processing means comprises a digital signal processor.

19. A system as in claim 16, wherein the embedded software comprises software for the microprocessor to store identifying information in the memory means regarding the other telephone set, the identifying information being used to retrieve the address information.

20. A system as in claim 19, wherein the identifying information regarding the other telephone set comprises a telephone number identifying the other telephone set.

21. A system as in claim 15, further comprising server means, in communication with the digital packet-switched data network, for (i) receiving a connection request from a first one of the switch boxes which wants to establish a connection over the digital packet-switched data network to a second one of the switch boxes and (ii) sending to the first one of the switch boxes the address information regarding the second one of the switch boxes to allow the first one of the switch boxes to connect to the second one of the switch boxes.

22. A system as in claim 21, wherein the address information regarding the second one of the switch boxes comprises an IP address of the second one of the switch boxes.

23. A system as in claim 21, wherein the server means comprises means for (i) receiving connection requests from the first and second ones of the switch boxes, (ii) queuing a first received one of the connection requests in a queue and (iii) searching the queue in response to a second received one of the connection requests to match the connection requests.

24. A system as in claim 11, further comprising a help desk in communication with at least one of the primary network and the secondary network, the help desk having at least one agent station, each of the at least one agent station comprising:

a telephone set, connected to said at least one of the primary network and the second network, for voice communication with the telephone set connected to any of the plurality of switch boxes; and

means for programming said any of the plurality of switch boxes over said at least one of the primary network and the secondary network.

35. A system as in claim 15, further comprising e-mail server means in communication with the digital packet-switched data network for (i) queuing an outgoing digital message from a first one of the switch boxes for delivery to a second one of the switch boxes including identification of the first one and the second one of the switch boxes, (ii) sending said queued digital message according to the identification of the second one of the switch boxes which wants to receive a digital message queued by a first one of the switch boxes.

36. A system as in claim 35, wherein the queued digital message identification is an electronic mail address for each of the first one and the second one of the switch boxes.

39. A system as in claim 15, wherein the secondary network connecting means further comprises means for dynamically adjusting a communication consisting of a portion of said exchange of packets comprising:

detecting means for monitoring at least a portion of the communication and for detecting a baud rate and a percentage of dropped packets in said at least a portion of the communication;

determining means for making a determination, in accordance with the baud rate and the percentage of dropped packets, as to whether a degree of compression, a packetization and a packet redundancy in the communication are acceptable for the baud rate; and

adjusting means for adjusting at least one of the degree of compression, the packetization and the packet redundancy in accordance with the determination.

40. A system as in claim 39, wherein the determining means comprises:

means for storing a look-up table; and

means for making the determination by applying the baud rate and the percentage of dropped packets to the look-up table.

41. A system as in claim 40, wherein:

the packet redundancy is adjustable to a first state or a second state;

in the first state, each packet in the communication is sent twice; and

in the second state, each packet in the communication is sent once.

46. A switch box as in claim 14, wherein said analog circuit-switched network is the PSTN and said digital packet-switched data network is the Internet.

25. A method for connecting a first telephone set and a second telephone set over a primary network and then a secondary network, the method comprising:

(a) establishing a first connection between the first telephone set and the second telephone set over the primary network;

(b) agreeing to switch to the second network and disconnecting both the first telephone set and the second telephone set from the primary network;

(c) connecting the first telephone set and the second telephone set to the secondary network;

(d) providing, over the secondary network, at least one of the first telephone set and the second telephone set with address information to connect the first telephone set with the second telephone set over the secondary network; and

(e) connecting the first telephone set to the second telephone set via the secondary network.

26. A method as in claim 25, wherein step (b) comprises actuating a dedicated button on a device attached to each of the first telephone set and the second telephone set to disconnect the first telephone set and the second telephone set from the primary network.

27. A method as in claim 25, wherein step (b) comprises issuing a command through a keypad of each of the first telephone set and the second telephone set to disconnect the first telephone set and the second telephone set form the primary network.

28. A method as in claim 25, wherein each of the first telephone set and the second telephone set is connected to the primary and secondary networks through a switch box which provides a passive pass-through connection to the primary network during step (a).

29. A method as in claim 28, wherein:

the primary network is an analog circuit-switched telephone network;

the secondary network is a digital packet-switched data network; and

step (e) comprises (i) connecting the first telephone set to the second telephone set over the digital packet-switched data network and (ii) exchanging packets representing voice signals between the first telephone set and the second telephone set over the digital packet-switched data network.

30. A method as in claim 29, wherein the switch box connected to the first telephone set comprises a memory for storing identifying information regarding the second telephone set, the identifying information being used to retrieve the address information.

31. A method as in claim 30, wherein the identifying information regarding the second telephone set comprises a telephone number identifying the second telephone set.

32. A method as in claim 29, wherein step (d) comprises:

(i) sending a connection request from a first one of the switch boxes to a server; and

(ii) sending from the server to the first one of the switch boxes the address information regarding the second one of the switch boxes to allow the switch boxes to connect.

33. A method as in claim 32, wherein the address information regarding the second one of the switch boxes comprises an IP address of the second one of the switch boxes.

34. A method as in claim 32, wherein:

both switch boxes send connection requests to the server; and

step (d)(ii) comprises;

(A) queuing a first received one of the connection requests in a queue; and

(B) searching the queue in response to a second received one of the connection requests to match the connection requests.

37. A method as in claim 29, wherein an e-mail server is in communication with the secondary network and step (e) further comprises (i) queuing, by the e-mail server, of outgoing digital packets as a digital message representing voice signals from a first telephone set including identification for delivery to a second telephone set, and (ii) sending said queued digital packets as an incoming digital message to a second telephone set according to the identification for delivery of the queued digital message and which wants to receive a digital message queued by a first telephone set.

38. A method as in claim 37, wherein identification for delivery comprises an electronic mail address for the recipient.

42. A method as in claim 29, wherein:

a portion of the exchange of packets is a communication; and

step (e) further comprises (i) monitoring at least a portion of the communication and detecting a baud rate and a percentage of dropped packets in said at least a portion of the communication, (ii) making a determination, in accordance with the baud rate and the percentage of dropped packets, as to whether a degree of compression, a packetization and a packet redundancy in the communication are acceptable for the baud rate, and (iii) adjusting at least one of the degree of compression, the packetization and the packet redundancy in accordance with the determination.

43. A method as in claim 42, wherein step (e)(ii) comprises:

a. storing a look-up table in a memory; and

b. making the determination by applying the baud rate and the percentage of dropped packets to the look-up table.

44. A method as in claim 43, wherein:

the packet redundancy is adjustable to a first state or a second state;

in the first state, each packet in the communication is sent twice; and

in the second state, each packet in the communication is sent once.

47. A method as in claim 29, wherein said analog circuit-switched network is the PSTN and said digital packet-switched data network is the Internet.