IP telephone terminal searching for a destination with a telephone number to set up a call connection over an IP network

• US 7,480,257 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2002
• Issued: 01/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Original Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Inventors: Sakano, Tsuneyuki, Sekine, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): MARCELO, MELVIN C
• Application Number:
  US10/298,671
• Publication Number:
  US 20030095546A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,254 Days
• Field of Search: 370/352, 370/356, 370/401, 370/475, 370/410, 370/254, 370/255, 370/256, 370/257, 370/258
• US Class Current: 370/255
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1063 Discovery through centralising entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• 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 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

Abstract

An IP (Internet Protocol) telephone terminal includes a communication subsection transmitting and receiving data to and from one or more IP telephone terminals on a peer-to-peer connection over an IP network, and a search subsection comparing a telephone number received by the communication subsection with a telephone number allotted to the IP telephone terminal. When the result from comparison indicates a coincidence between both of the telephone numbers under comparison, the communication subsection transmits the IP address assigned thereto. The IP address thus transmitted efficiently allows a call connection to be set up from a calling telephone terminal having transmitted the telephone number.

Claims

1. A first IP (Internet Protocol) telephone terminal connectable to any of a plurality of second IP telephone terminals over an IP network, each of the first and second IP telephone terminals having a telephone number and an IP address allotted thereto, said first IP telephone terminal comprising:

a communication section for transmitting and receiving data over the IP network to and from the plurality of second IP telephone terminals on a peer-to-peer connection basis, said communication section transmitting the telephone number of a desired one of said second IP telephone terminals over the IP network to more than one of said second IP telephone terminals when said first IP telephone terminal originates a call to the desired one of said second IP telephone terminals; and

a comparing section for comparing a telephone number received over the IP network by said communication section from one of said second IP telephone terminals with the telephone number allotted to said first IP telephone terminal to produce a result from the comparison in dependence upon whether or not the telephone number received coincides with the telephone number allotted to said first IP telephone terminal.

2. The first IP telephone terminal in accordance with claim 1, wherein said communication section transmits, when the result from comparison indicates that the telephone number received does not coincide with the telephone number allotted to said first IP telephone terminal, the telephone number received by said communication section to a second IP telephone terminal that has previously been connected to said first IP telephone terminal;

whereby a search is allowed to continue for the second IP telephone terminal to which the call connection is to be established.

3. The first IP telephone terminal in accordance with claim 2,

wherein said communication section comprises a storage circuit for storing therein the IP address of the second IP telephone terminal that has previously been connected to said first IP telephone terminal;

and

wherein said communication section transmits, when the result from comparison indicates that the telephone number received does not coincide with the telephone number allotted to said first IP telephone terminal, the telephone number received by said communication section to the IP telephone t terminal having the IP address stored in said storage circuit.

4. The first IP telephone terminal in accordance with claim 1, wherein said communication section transmits and receives the data in a form of IP packets, said first IP telephone terminal further comprising:

a port for sending and receiving an analog speech signal;

a packet assembler/deassembler for converting protocol between the analog speech signal and the IP packets; and

a call connection section for transmitting the IP packets including an IP address received by said communication section to thereby establish a call connection over the IP network.

5. The first IP telephone terminal in accordance with claim 1, wherein said communication section is operative in response to the result from the comparison for transmitting the IP address allotted to said first IP telephone terminal over the IP network when the result from the comparison indicates that the telephone number received coincides with the telephone number allotted to said first IP telephone terminal.

6. A first IP (Internet Protocol) telephone terminal connectable to any of a plurality of second IP telephone terminals over an IP network, the first IP telephone terminal and each of the plurality of second IP telephone terminals having a telephone number and an IP address allotted thereto, wherein the first IP telephone terminal, when originating a call to a desired one of the second IP telephone terminals, transmits the telephone number allotted to the desired one of the second IP telephone terminals, said first IP telephone terminal comprising:

a communication section for transmitting and receiving data to and from the plurality of second IP telephone terminals on a peer-to-peer connection basis, the data including a telephone number and an IP address; and

a comparing section for comparing the telephone number received by said communication section with the telephone number allotted to said first IP telephone terminal to produce a result from the comparison in dependence upon whether or not the telephone number received coincides with the telephone number allotted to said first IP telephone terminal,

wherein said communication section transmits, when the result from comparison indicates that the telephone number received does not coincide with the telephone number allotted to said first IP telephone terminal, the telephone number received by said communication section to one of the plurality of second IP telephone terminals;

whereby a search is allowed to continue from the first IP telephone terminal.

7. A system for searching for an intended one of a plurality of IP (Internet Protocol) terminals connectable to any other of the plurality of IP terminals over an IP network, each of the plurality of IP terminals having particular identification information and an IP address allotted thereto, each of said IP terminals comprising:

a communication section for transmitting and receiving data over the IP network to and from a plurality of other IP terminals on a peer-to-peer connection basis, the data transmitted by the communication section of a given one of the IP terminals over the IP network to the plurality of other IP terminals including the identification information allotted to a desired one of the other IP terminals; and

a comparing section for comparing identification information received over the IP network from one of the other IP terminals with the identification information particular to said given one of the IP terminals.

8. The system in accordance with claim 7, wherein said communication section of said given one of the IP terminals is operative in response to the result from the comparison for transmitting the IP address allotted to said given one of the IP terminals over the IP network when identification information received by the given one of the IP terminals coincides with the identification information particular to said given one of the IP terminals.

9. A method of searching for an intended one of a plurality of IP (Internet Protocol) telephone terminals connectable to any other of the plurality of IP telephone terminals over an IP network, comprising the steps of:

allotting to each of the plurality of IP telephone terminals a telephone number and an IP address;

transmitting over the IP network from a first one of the plurality of IP telephone terminals to a plurality of other IP telephone terminals, when originating a call, the telephone number allotted to a desired second one of the plurality of IP telephone terminals on a peer-to-peer connection basis;

receiving the telephone number transmitted over the IP network in said step of transmitting by the second one of the plurality of IP telephone terminals;

comparing the telephone number received by the second IP telephone terminal with the telephone number allotted to the second IP telephone terminal, the comparing step being conducted in the second IP telephone terminal;

transmitting the IP address allotted to the second IP telephone terminal over the IP network when a result from said step of comparing indicates that the telephone number received by the second IP telephone terminal coincides with the telephone number allotted to the second IP telephone terminal; and

establishing a call connection over the IP network from the first IP telephone terminal to the second IP telephone terminal by means of the IP address transmitted.

10. The method in accordance with claim 9, further comprising the step of transferring, when a telephone number received by the second IP telephone terminal does not coincide with the telephone number allotted to the second IP telephone terminal, the telephone number received to a third one of the plurality of IP telephone terminals which has previously been connected to the second IP telephone terminal;

whereby a search is allowed to continue for the IP telephone terminal to which a call connection is to be established.

11. The method in accordance with claim 10, further comprising the step of storing the IP address of the third IP telephone terminal in the first IP telephone terminal.

12. A method of searching for an intended one of a plurality of IP (Internet Protocol) telephone terminals connectable to any other of the plurality of LIP telephone terminals over an IP network, comprising the steps of:

allotting each of the plurality of IP telephone terminals to a telephone number and an IP address;

transmitting from a first one of the plurality of IP telephone terminals, when originating a call, the telephone number allotted to a second one of the plurality of IP telephone terminals on a peer-to-peer connection basis;

receiving the telephone number transmitted in said step of transmitting by the second one of the plurality of IP telephone terminals;

comparing the telephone number received by the second one of the IP telephone terminals with the telephone number allotted to the second IP telephone terminal;

transmitting the IP address allotted to the second one of the IP telephone terminals over the IP network when a result from said step of comparing indicates that the telephone number received by the second one of the IP telephone terminals coincides with the telephone number allotted to the second one of the IP telephone terminals;

establishing a call connection over the W network from the first one of the IP telephone terminals to the second one of the IP telephone terminal by means of the IP address transmitted, and

transferring, when the result from said step of comparing indicates that a telephone number received by the second one of the IP telephone terminals does not coincide with the telephone number allotted to the second one of the IP telephone terminals, the telephone number received in said step of receiving to a third one of the plurality of IP telephone terminals;

whereby a search is allowed to continue for a call connection that is to be established from the first IP telephone terminal.