System and method for accessing radio programs using a data network telephone in a network based telecommunication system

• US 6,914,897 B1
• Filed: 02/29/2000
• Issued: 07/05/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: 3Com Corporation (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Dean, Frederick D., Bezaitis, Andrew, Schuster, Guido M., Sidhu, Ikhlaq S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Phan, Tri H.
• Application Number:
  US09/516,269
• Time in Patent Office: 1,953 Days
• Field of Search: 370/310, 370/310.2, 370351-356, 370/396, 370/400, 370/401, 370/338, 370465-467, 370492-495, 370/326, 455 301- 306, 379/88.17, 379/265, 709217-219
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/82 using signals not modulated onto a carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2473 Telephone terminals interfacing a personal computer, e.g. using an API (Application Programming Interface) details of API H04M7/0021
• 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 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• 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

Abstract

A system and method of accessing radio programming from radio stations that communicate radio programming on a data network. The radio programming is accessed as radio or audio signals formatted in radio-over-data packets to a data network telephone. The data network telephone is a telephone that uses voice-over-data communications channels over a data network to make telephone connections with other data network telephones. The data network telephone includes a display, a keypad, a handset and an optional speaker output. The data network telephone advantageously permits simultaneous access to radio programming and communication on a telephone connection. The data network telephone also includes an interface to a portable information device. A radio control application may be used on the portable information device that communicates control information to a radio application on the data network telephone. The PID may be used to set the desired radio station, volume and other settings that may be communicated to the radio application on the data network telephone.

Claims

1. A system for accessing radio programming in a data network telephony system comprising:

a data network to provide data connectivity for a plurality of data communications channels using data transport protocols;

a radio server connected to the data network, the radio server operable to communicate an audio signal as radio-over-data packets on a radio-over-data channel, the radio-over-data channel being one of the plurality of data communications channels;

a data network telephone connected to the data network, the data network telephone operable to communicate a voice signal as voice-over-data packets on a voice-over-data channel, the voice over data channel being one of the plurality of data communications channels, the data network telephone operable to convert voice-over-data packets communicated on the voice-over-data channel to voice signals, the data network telephone operable to communicate with the radio server via the radio-over-data channel, the data network telephone further comprising an audio output;

a radio application in the data network telephone operable to receive the audio signals in the radio-over-data channel and to couple the audio signals to the audio output;

a portable information device comprising a graphical user interface and a data network telephone interface, the graphical user interface operable to accept and display information from the Internet service, the data network telephone interface operable to communicate at least one request for data network services with the data network telephone; and

a radio control application executing in the portable information device, the radio control application operable to communicate a radio station selection via the data network telephone interface, the radio station selection being one of the requests for data network services having a data network identifier corresponding to a selected radio station, wherein the data network telephone communicates the radio station selection to the radio server to use the radio station selection to access the selected radio station;

wherein;

the data network telephone includes a portable information device interface to communicate with the data network telephone interface on the portable information device; and

the data network telephone interface comprises;

a link interface circuit having a transmitter and receiver to communicate PID data between the portable information device and the data network telephone;

a data link controller to process the PID data in accordance with a communications specification; and

the link interface circuit includes an infrared transmitter and receiver to communicate the PID data; and

wherein;

the communications specification includes a specification selected from the group comprising;

the Infrared Data Association and the Point-To-Point Protocol.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the link interface circuit includes a radio frequency transmitter and receiver to communicate the PID data.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the communications specification includes the Bluetooth specification.

4. A data network telephone comprising:

a user interface circuit having a keypad, a graphical user interface display, an audio input and an audio output;

a data network interface operable to connect the data network telephone to a data network to provide data connectivity on at least one data communications channel;

the data network interface operable to communicate audio signals as audio-over-data packets using a radio-over-data channel connected to a radio server, the radio server being operable to access the audio signals from a radio station that communicates radio programming over the data network, the radio-over-data channel being one of the data communications channels;

a signaling stack to initiate a telephone connection on a voice-over-data channel using the data network interface to communicate voice signals as voice-over-data packets, the voice-over-data channel being one of the data communications channels;

a voice-over-data application operable to process a voice signal in the voice-over-data packets received over the voice-over-data channel and to couple the voice signal to the audio output, the voice-over-data application operable to convert an input voice signal received from the audio input to voice-over-data packets to communicate on the voice-over-data-channel;

a radio application operable to process the audio signal in the audio-over-data packets and to couple the audio signals to the audio output;

a radio control application operable to communicate a radio station selection on a radio request channel via the data network interface to the radio server, the radio station selection having a data network identifier corresponding to a selected radio station, wherein the radio server uses the radio station selection to access the selected radio station; and

a portable information device interface to communicate with a portable information device comprising a graphical user interface and a data network telephone interface, the graphical user interface operable to accept and display information from the Internet service, the data network telephone interface operable to communicate at least one request for data network services with the data network telephone;

wherein the portable information device interface comprises;

a link interface circuit having a transmitter and receiver to communicate PID data between the portable information device and the data network telephone;

a data link controller to process the PID data in accordance with a communications specification;

the link interface circuit includes an infrared transmitter and receiver to communicate the PID data; and

wherein;

the communications specification includes a specification selected from the group comprising;

the Infrared Data Association and the Point-To-Point Protocol.

5. The data network telephone of claim 4 wherein the link interface circuit includes a radio frequency transmitter and receiver to communicate the PID data.

6. The data network telephone of claim 5 wherein the communications specification includes the Bluetooth specification.