Remote control telephone dialing system and method

• US 7,269,163 B1
• Filed: 09/27/2001
• Issued: 09/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Koch, Robert A., Scott, David, Hensey, Robert G. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, STEVEN H D
• Application Number:
  US09/966,300
• Time in Patent Office: 2,175 Days
• Field of Search: 370/352, 370/353, 370/389, 370/401.4, 379/142.01, 379/142.15, 379/265.09, 379/202.01, 379/210.01
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/003 Click to dial services
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/90 Internet, e.g. Internet phone, webphone, internet-based telephony

Abstract

An apparatus for allowing a calling party to initiate a telephone call from an Internet-enabled device. The apparatus includes a server for receiving an originating telephone number and a destination telephone number in response to a command from the Internet-enabled device, for generating a call request, and for transmitting the request to a telecommunications network to request the network to establish a connection between the originating telephone number and the destination telephone number.

Claims

1. An apparatus for allowing a calling party to initiate a telephone call from an Internet-enabled device, the apparatus comprising:

a server operative for;

receiving an originating telephone number and a destination telephone number in response to a command from the Internet-enabled device, wherein at least the destination telephone number is imported from a database external to the server,

generating a call request comprising a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) request, and

transmitting the request from a non-secure data network to a telecommunications network via a secure Internet Protocol network to request the telecommunications network to establish a connection between the originating telephone number and the destination telephone number, wherein the database external to the server is in communication with the non-secure data network and wherein the server stores the call request, the call request comprising an Internet Protocol address and an e-mail address of the Internet-enabled device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the server transmits the call request to a service control point of the telecommunications network and wherein the call request includes instructions that cause the service control point to establish the connection through operation of at least one switch of the telecommunications network that is in communication with the service control point.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the telecommunications network includes an advanced intelligent network (AIN).

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a communications network for connecting the Internet-enabled device to the server.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the Internet-enabled device is selected from the group consisting of a personal computer, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant, a WAP-enabled device, and an interactive pager.

6. A method of enabling a calling party to initiate a telephone call, the method comprising:

receiving a request to initiate the telephone call from a first device of a non-secure data network at a server of a secure data network, wherein the secure network is an Internet Protocol network and the first device is associated with the calling party;

receiving an originating telephone number;

receiving a destination telephone number by the first device accessing an online telephone directory of a database maintained on the non-secure data network; and

transmitting a call request comprising a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) request, the call request containing the originating telephone number and the destination telephone number from the server over the secure Internet Protocol network to a telecommunications network to request the telecommunications network to originate the telephone call from a second device associated with the originating telephone number to a third device associated with the destination telephone number, wherein the call request is stored on the server, the call request further comprising an Internet Protocol address and an e-mail address of the first device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein receiving an originating telephone number includes receiving an originating telephone number from the first device.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein transmitting the call request comprises transmitting instructions to a service control point of the telecommunications network, the method further comprising the service control point generating commands to at least one switch to connect a call between the originating telephone number and the destination telephone number.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the service control point performing a look-up in an associated database to determine whether the requested call should be completed.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein transmitting a call request containing the originating telephone number and the destination telephone number to a telecommunications network includes transmitting the call request to an advanced intelligent network (AIN).

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising receiving one of an IP address and an email address of the first device.

12. The method of claim 6, further comprising accepting a personal identification number (PIN) from the first device.

13. A computer readable medium containing instructions that when executed by a computer perform acts for allowing a calling party to initiate a telephone call from an Internet-enabled device, the acts comprising:

receiving a request from the Internet-enabled device of a non-secure network at a server of a secure Internet Protocol network to initiate the telephone call;

receiving an originating telephone number;

receiving a destination telephone number by a user of the Internet-enabled device providing a personal identification number after having accessed the server that allows access to a telephone directory database of the secure Internet Protocol network and receiving a selection of the destination number from the telephone directory via the Internet-enabled device; and

transmitting a call request comprising a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) request, the call request containing the originating telephone number and the destination telephone number to a telecommunications network via the secure Internet Protocol network to request the telecommunications network to establish a connection between the originating telephone number and the destination telephone number, wherein the server stores the call request, the call request further comprising an Internet Protocol address and an e-mail address of the Internet-enabled device.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13, the acts further comprising preventing unauthorized requests for calls from Internet-enabled devices.

15. A system for allowing a calling party to initiate a telephone call from an Internet-enabled device, the system comprising:

a telecommunications network;

a non-secure IP network in communication with the Internet-enabled device; and

a server of a secure IP network, separate from the non-secure IP network, the server operative for;

receiving an originating telephone number and a destination telephone number in response to a command from the Internet-enabled device, wherein the destination telephone number comes from a selection made by the Internet-enabled device from a telephone directory of the non-secure IP network,

generating a call request comprising a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) request, and

transmitting the request to the telecommunications network via the secure IP network to request the telecommunications network to establish a connection between the originating telephone number and the destination telephone number, wherein the server stores the call request, the call request further comprising an IP address and an e-mail address of the Internet-enabled device.