Method and apparatus for co-socket telephony
First Claim
1. A communication system, comprising:
- a plurality of wireless handsets each including a user interface which enables a respective user to specify a set of dialing digits corresponding to a telephone number of a particular callee where the particular callee can be reached via telephone calls originated from a public switched telephone network (PSTN);
a plurality of network access devices that are each coupled to an Internet Protocol (IP) packet-switched network, wherein each of the network access devices provides a respective wireless local area network air interface for communicating with a particular wireless handset of the plurality of wireless handsets;
a database server that is coupled at least partially via the IP packet-switched network to at least two of the plurality of network access devices, and that provides dynamic information indicative of IP addresses available for use in communicating with respective ones of the plurality of wireless handsets;
a call setup protocol operative to set up a call from the particular wireless handset to a particular telephony device associated with the particular callee, wherein;
the particular wireless handset transmits to the database server a particular set of dialing digits specified by the respective user of the particular wireless handset via a particular one of the network access devices and at least partially via the IP packet-switched network;
in response to the particular set of dialing digits, the database server sends back to the particular wireless handset, at least partially via the IP packet-switched network and via the particular network access device, a first destination IP address where the particular telephony device can be presently reached at least partially via the IP packet-switched network; and
the particular wireless handset causes to be established at least partially via the IP packet-switched network a first IP connection comprising a communication connection that carries voice data using a packetized IP telephony protocol, using the first destination IP address, to establish voice communication with the particular telephony device; and
wherein, in support of the communication connection that carries voice data using the packetized IP telephony protocol, the particular wireless handset wirelessly transmits and receives packetized IP telephony protocol packets to and from the particular network access device using the wireless local area network air interface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A network based communication system allows a communication connection that carries voice data using packetized IP telephony protocol to be established via a wireless local area network access point by sending a user address to a remote database server. The database server converts the user address to an Internet address and informs the wireless handset of an active Internet address to be used to complete the call. In some embodiments the user address is a telephone number that can also be used to reach the user using the public switched telephone network. Other types of media are also supported like digital pictures, digital video, data conference sessions, and application sharing sessions.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A communication system, comprising:
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a plurality of wireless handsets each including a user interface which enables a respective user to specify a set of dialing digits corresponding to a telephone number of a particular callee where the particular callee can be reached via telephone calls originated from a public switched telephone network (PSTN); a plurality of network access devices that are each coupled to an Internet Protocol (IP) packet-switched network, wherein each of the network access devices provides a respective wireless local area network air interface for communicating with a particular wireless handset of the plurality of wireless handsets; a database server that is coupled at least partially via the IP packet-switched network to at least two of the plurality of network access devices, and that provides dynamic information indicative of IP addresses available for use in communicating with respective ones of the plurality of wireless handsets; a call setup protocol operative to set up a call from the particular wireless handset to a particular telephony device associated with the particular callee, wherein; the particular wireless handset transmits to the database server a particular set of dialing digits specified by the respective user of the particular wireless handset via a particular one of the network access devices and at least partially via the IP packet-switched network; in response to the particular set of dialing digits, the database server sends back to the particular wireless handset, at least partially via the IP packet-switched network and via the particular network access device, a first destination IP address where the particular telephony device can be presently reached at least partially via the IP packet-switched network; and the particular wireless handset causes to be established at least partially via the IP packet-switched network a first IP connection comprising a communication connection that carries voice data using a packetized IP telephony protocol, using the first destination IP address, to establish voice communication with the particular telephony device; and wherein, in support of the communication connection that carries voice data using the packetized IP telephony protocol, the particular wireless handset wirelessly transmits and receives packetized IP telephony protocol packets to and from the particular network access device using the wireless local area network air interface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. For use in a communication environment comprising a plurality of users each having a wireless handset which provides a respective user interface to enable a respective user of the plurality of users to specify a destination address to identify a particular telephony device associated with a particular callee, a communication system, comprising:
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a plurality of network access devices that are each coupled to an Internet Protocol (IP) packet-switched network, wherein each of the network access devices provides a respective wireless local area network air interface for communicating with a particular wireless handset of the plurality of wireless handsets; a database server that is coupled at least partially via the IP packet-switched network to at least two of the plurality of network access devices; and a call setup protocol operative to set up a call from the particular wireless handset to the particular telephony device associated with a the particular callee, wherein; the database server receives from the particular wireless handset an indication of a desired call destination specified by the user of the particular wireless handset, via a particular one of the plurality of network access devices and at least partially via the IP packet-switched network; in response to the indication of the desired call destination, the database server sends back to the particular wireless handset, at least partially via the IP packet-switched network and via the particular network access device, a first destination IP address where the particular telephony device can be presently reached at least partially via the IP packet-switched network; and the particular wireless handset causes to be established at least partially via the IP packet-switched network a first IP connection comprising a communication connection that carries voice data using a packetized IP telephony protocol, using the first destination IP address, to establish voice communication with the particular telephony device; wherein the plurality of network access devices collectively provide a set of local area wireless domains from which the users can place and receive packetized IP telephony protocol telephone calls; and wherein, in support of the packetized IP telephony protocol communication connection, the particular wireless handset wirelessly transmits and receives packetized IP telephony protocol packets to and from the particular network access device using the wireless local area network air interface. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. For use in a communication environment comprising a plurality of users each having a wireless handset which provides a respective user interface to enable a respective user to specify a set of dialing digits corresponding to a telephone number of a particular callee where the particular callee can be reached via telephone calls originated from a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a communication system, comprising:
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a plurality of network access devices that are each coupled to an Internet Protocol (IP) packet-switched network, wherein each of the network access devices provides a respective wireless local area network air interface for communicating with a particular wireless handset of the plurality of wireless handsets; a database server that is coupled at least partially via the IP packet-switched network to at least two of the plurality of network access devices; a call setup protocol operative to set up a call from the particular wireless handset to a particular telephony device associated with the particular callee, wherein; the database server receives from the particular wireless handset a particular set of dialing digits specified by the user of the particular wireless handset, via a particular one of the plurality of network access devices and at least partially via the IP packet-switched network; in response to the particular set of dialing digits, the database server sends back to the particular wireless handset, at least partially via the IP packet-switched network and via the particular network access device, a first destination IP address where the particular telephony device can be presently reached at least partially via the IP packet-switched network; and the particular wireless handset causes to be established at least partially via the IP packet-switched network a first IP connection comprising a communication connection that carries voice data using a packetized IP telephony protocol, using the first destination IP address, to establish voice communication with the particular telephony device; and wherein the plurality of network access devices collectively provide a set of local area wireless domains from which the users can place and receive packetized IP telephony protocol telephone calls; and wherein, in support of the communication connection that carries voice data using a packetized IP telephony protocol, the particular wireless handset wirelessly transmits and receives packetized IP telephony protocol packets to and from the particular network access device using the wireless local area network air interface. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A communication system, comprising:
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a plurality of wireless smart telephones, each including a user interface which enables a respective user to specify a set of dialing digits corresponding to a telephone number of a particular callee where the particular callee can be reached via telephone calls originated from a public switched telephone network (PSTN); a database server that is coupled at least partially via the IP packet-switched network to at least two of the plurality of the wireless smart telephones, and that provides dynamic information indicative of IP addresses available for use in communicating with respective ones of the plurality of smart telephones; a call setup protocol operative to set up a call from a particular wireless smart telephone of the plurality of wireless smart telephones to a particular telephony device associated with a the particular callee, wherein; the particular wireless smart telephone transmits to the database server a particular set of dialing digits specified by the respective user of the particular wireless smart telephone via a particular one of the network access devices and at least partially via the IP packet-switched network; in response to the particular set of dialing digits, the database server sends back to the particular smart telephone, at least partially via the IP packet-switched network and via the particular network access device, a first destination IP address where the particular telephony device can be presently reached at least partially via the IP packet-switched network; and the particular wireless handset causes to be established at least partially via the IP packet-switched network a first IP connection comprising a communication connection that carries voice data using a packetized IP telephony protocol, using the first destination IP address, to establish voice communication with the particular telephony device; and wherein, in support of the communication connection that carries the voice data using the packetized IP telephony protocol, the particular wireless smart telephone wirelessly transmits and receives packetized IP telephony protocol packets to and from the particular network access device using a wireless air interface.
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Specification