Wireless access to wired network audio services using mobile voice call

• US 6,788,667 B1
• Filed: 06/20/2000
• Issued: 09/07/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd. (Vivo Communication Technology Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Beresin, Evgenij
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Wellington
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fox, Jamal A.
• Application Number:
  US09/597,964
• Time in Patent Office: 1,540 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338, 370/341, 370/329, 370/264, 370/345, 370/431, 370/464, 370/352, 370/357, 370/389, 370/354, 370/310.1, 370/310.2, 370/328, 455/426.1, 455/450, 455/455, 455/445, 379/59, 379/900, 379/67.1, 379/88.17, 379/88.18, 379/88.22
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• 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 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/38 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/257 remote control of substation user interface for telephonic services, e.g. by ISDN stimulus, ADSI, wireless telephony application WTA, MExE or BREW
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0045 where the text-based messaging service is an instant messaging service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1235 where one of the core networks is a wireless network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding

Abstract

A system and method permits a wireless communication terminal (such as a mobile telephone) to access Internet audio services. The wireless terminal communicates in WAP protocol to a WTA Internet server acting as a gateway between a mobile network and a wired network, and requests a channel to an audio service residing on a particular Internet origin server. The WTA server initiates establishment of an audio channel with the origin server. The WTA server also instructs the wireless terminal to answer automatically the next voice telephone call it receives, and the WTA server instructs the mobile network to place a voice phone call to the wireless terminal. The wireless terminal automatically answers, and there is then established a speech path from the wireless terminal, over the mobile network, through the WTA server, to the origin server. The wireless terminal may access the Internet audio service over this audio path.

Claims

1. A method of wireless access to a wired-network-based audio service from a wireless terminal, comprising the steps of:

(a) sending, from the wireless terminal in a wireless network to a network gateway server, a request identifying an audio service residing on an origin server in a wired network;

(b) sending, from the network gateway server to the origin server, a request for an audio channel to the audio service;

(c) setting up in the origin server the requested audio channel between the origin server and the network gateway server in the wired network;

(d) sending, from the network gateway server to a mobile network, an instruction to place a mobile voice call in the wireless network between the wireless terminal and the network gateway server;

(e) sending notification from the mobile network that the wireless terminal has answered the voice call; and

(f) performing, in the network gateway server, digital conversion of audio data flow formats between the mobile voice call in the wireless network and the audio channel in the wired network, wherein a speech path is established from the wireless terminal through the mobile voice call to the network gateway server and from the network gateway server through the audio channel to the audio service on the origin server over which audio transmission may take place.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein following the step (c) is a step:

(c1) sending from the network gateway server to the wireless terminal an instruction to answer automatically a next incoming voice call.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps:

(g) sending an indication from the wireless network to the network gateway server when a user who was using the audio service places the wireless terminal in an on-hook condition; and

(h) initiating from the network gateway server a disconnection of the audio channel with the audio service on the origin server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the wired network is the Internet.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the audio channel between the network gateway server and the origin server is a VoIP channel.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the wireless terminal is compliant with Wireless Application Protocol (WAP);

the network gateway server is a wireless Telephony Application (WTA) server; and

the request sent from the wireless terminal to the network gateway server is the Wireless Session Protocol (WSP) get request with uniform resource locator (URL) argument identifying the audio service on the origin server.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio service is a voice chat service.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio service is a streaming audio service.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio service is a network telephony service.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio service is a network broadcasting service.

11. Apparatus for wireless access to a wired-network-based audio service from a wireless terminal, comprising:

a network gateway server;

an origin server in a wired network;

means for sending, from the wireless terminal in a wireless network to the network gateway server, a request identifying an audio service residing on the origin server;

means for sending, from the network gateway server to the origin server, a request for an audio channel to the audio service;

audio communication means in the origin server for providing the requested audio channel between the origin server and the network gateway server in the wired network;

means for sending, from the network gateway server to a mobile network, an instruction to place a mobile voice call in the wireless network between the wireless terminal and the network gateway server;

means in the mobile network for providing notification that the wireless terminal has answered the voice call; and

conversion means in the network gateway server for performing digital conversion of audio data flow formats between the mobile voice call in the wireless network and the audio channel in the wired network, wherein a speech path is established from the wireless terminal through the mobile voice call to the network gateway server and from the network gateway server through the audio channel to the audio service on the origin server over which audio transmission may take place.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising means for sending from the network gateway server to the wireless terminal an instruction to answer automatically a next incoming voice call.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising:

means for sending an indication from the wireless network to the network gateway server when a user who was using the audio service places the wireless terminal in an on-hook condition; and

means in the network gateway server for disconnecting the audio channel with the audio service on the origin server.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

the wire network is the Internet.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the audio channel between the network gateway server and the origin server is a VoIP channel.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein:

the wireless terminal is compliant with Wireless Application Protocol (WAP);

the network gateway server is a Wireless Telephony Application (WTA) server; and

the request sent from the wireless terminal to the network gateway server is the Wireless Session Protocol (WSP) Get request with uniform resource locator (URL) argument identifying the audio service on the origin server.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the audio service is a voice chat service.

18. the apparatus of claim 11, wherein the audio service is a streaming audio service.

19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the audio service is a network telephony service.

20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the audio service is a network broadcasting service.