Method and apparatus for establishing and facilitating a voice call connection from a client computer to a PSTN extension

• US 6,778,652 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2001
• Issued: 08/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ITXC IP Holdings SARL (Tata Sons Pvt Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Itex Incorporated (Converge Technology Solutions Corp.)
• Inventors: Sponaugle, Jeffrey B., Kadinger, John R., Gaus, Jeffrey W., Karamechdu, Murali
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoosain, Allan
• Application Number:
  US09/773,787
• Publication Number:
  US 20020042826A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,294 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67.1, 379/76, 379/88.17, 379/88.19, 379/88.13, 379/265.01, 379/266.01, 379/201.01, 379/207.01, 379/88.2, 379/88.21, 379/201.02, 379/212.01, 379/211.02, 379/265.09, 379/207.12
• US Class Current: 379/201.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1106 Call signalling protocols; H.323 and related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/527 Centralised call answering arrangements not requiring operator intervention
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/003 Click to dial services
• 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: H04M 7/1205 where the types of switching equipement comprises PSTN/ISDN equipment and switching equipment of networks other than PSTN/ISDN, e.g. Internet Protocol networks

Abstract

A method and apparatus for establishing and facilitating a voice call connection from a client computer to a PSTN extension includes incorporating offers to participate in a voice communication session into a call invitation list providing convenient and persistent access to such offers for present and/or future acceptance by a user of the client computer.

Claims

1. In a client computer system, a method comprising:

receiving from a web server a first incoming call consisting of an offer to participate in a voice communication session, which when accepted by the client causes an event notification denoting such acceptance of the first offer by the client to be transmitted to a bridge server associated with the offer, without going through the offering web server, the offer including information identifying the bridge server to establish the voice communication session; and

incorporating the offer into a call invitation list displayable at said client.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the voice communication session is established between the client and an agent of an offeror of the first offer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the call invitation list includes graphical representations of at least one of the one or more previously received offers.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first offer is represented in the call invitation list by a graphical representation visually identifying the offeror.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the call invitation list alphanumerically represents at least one of the one or more previously received offers.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first offer is selectively incorporated into the call invitation list based at least in part upon input from a user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first offer is automatically incorporated into the call invitation list upon the client receiving the first offer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first offer is incorporated into the call invitation list only if the voice communication session is established as a result of the acceptance of the first offer by the client.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein if the voice communication session is not established as a result of the acceptance of the first offer by the client, a graphical representation indicating such failure of the communication session to be established is incorporated into the call invitation list.

10. A computer readable medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions to receive from a web server a first offer to participate in a voice communication session, which when said first offer is accepted by a client causes an event notification denoting such acceptance of the first offer by the client to be transmitted to a bridge server associated with the offer without going through the offering web server, the offer including information identifying the bridge server, to establish the voice communication session;

and

a display unit adapted to incorporate the first offer in association with a call offer list representing received offers including the first offer, said list being displayable at said client.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the voice communication session is established between the client and an offeror of the first offer.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the call invitation list comprises a graphical representation of at least one of the one or more previously received offers.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the graphical representation visually identifies the offeror of the first offer.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the call invitation list comprises an alphanumeric representation of at least one of the one or more previously received offers.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the first offer is selectively incorporated into the call invitation list based at least in part upon input from a user.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the first offer is automatically incorporated into the call invitation list upon the client receiving the first offer.

17. In a client computer system, a method comprising:

displaying a representation of at least one offer from a web server to participate in a voice communication session wherein when one or more of the at least one offer is accepted by the client an event notification denoting such acceptance by the client is transmitted to a bridge server associated with the offer without going through the offering web server, and

incorporating the at least one offer into a call invitation list for future acceptance by the user.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the call invitation list comprises a graphical representation of at least the select one or more of the at least one offer.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the call invitation list comprises an alphanumeric representation of the select one or more of the at least one offer.

20. A client apparatus comprising:

a storage medium having stored thereon a plurality of programming instructions to display a representation of at least one offer from a web server to participate in a voice communication session, wherein when one or more of the at least one offer is accepted by the client, an event notification denoting such acceptance by the client of the offer is transmitted to a bridge server associated with the offer without going through the web server to establish the voice communication session;

to incorporate the select one or more of the at least one offer into a call invitation list for future acceptance by the user;

a display unit connected to said storage medium for displaying said at least one offer to participate in a voice communication session; and

an execution unit coupled to the storage medium to execute the plurality of programming instructions.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the call invitation list comprises a graphical representation of at least the select one or more of the at least one offer.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the call invitation list comprises an alphanumeric representation of the select one or more of the at least one offer.

23. A computer readable medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions to display a graphical representation of at least one offer from a web server to participate in a voice communication session, wherein when one or more of the at least one offer is accepted by the client, an event notification denoting such acceptance by the client of the offer is transmitted to a bridge server associated with the offer without going through the offering web server to establish the voice communication session;

to identify a select one or more of the at least one offer as indicated by a user; and

to incorporate the select one or more of the at least one offer as indicated by the user in association with a call invitation list for future acceptance by the user.

24. A method comprising:

receiving at a client computer from a web server, through a data network, at least one offer to participate in a voice communication session,

said offer comprising identification of a bridge server allowing acceptance of the offer by the client computer to be automatically sent to the identified bridge server without going through the web server, such that the bridge server can facilitate the call between the client computer and a PSTN extension associated with the web server, on behalf of the web server, and incorporating the at least one offer into a call invitation list displayable at said client computer.