System and method for providing a universal communications port with computer-telephony interface
First Claim
1. A method for facilitating communication between a computing system and an external system using a universal communication port, comprising the steps of:
- equipping the computing system with at least one universal communication port presenting a plurality of coupler lines configured to engage a connector associated with one of a plurality of compatible external systems and presenting a plurality of connector lines for coupling the external system to the computer system, the universal communication port being configured to receive and initialize one of the plurality of compatible external systems, wherein at least two of the external systems include different connector lines, the different connector lines including different data or power line associations, the universal communication port being further configured to accept a plurality of different connector types;
determining that an external system'"'"'s connector has been engaged with the with the universal communication port such that at least a first portion of the universal communication port'"'"'s coupler lines are electrically connected to at least a portion of the external system'"'"'s connector lines;
performing an evaluation of at least one electrical property manifested in the first portion of coupler lines to determine whether data or power characteristics of the external system are identifiable from among the plurality of known compatible external systems with which the computing system can automatically interface using the universal communication port;
based on the evaluation, detecting which external system has been connected to the universal communication port and determining whether the port'"'"'s data or power line associations are properly routed for communication with the external system; and
when the evaluation indicates the external system is among the known compatible external systems with which the computing system can automatically interface using the universal communication port, automatically routing at least a second portion of the coupler lines to a corresponding converter subsystem according to the detected data or power line associations, the converter subsystem corresponding to the detected external system, the subsystem being configured to interface the computing system with the external system.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A computing system is equipped with one or more ports, each of which includes a plurality of coupler lines configured to engage connectors that may be associated with different types of external services and/or devices, including public switched telephone networks, Ethernet networks, ISDN networks, and/or telephone devices. Upon detecting a connection to a port, a controller evaluates at least one electrical property of the lines of the port. Based on the evaluation, the controller determines if the port is engaged with a known type of service or device. When the type of service or device is known, the controller selectively switches a plurality of port lines to appropriate communications subsystems to enable the computing system to communicate with the device or service. For example, a conventional telephone device can then be used as an audio input/output device for communication over the Internet rather than over a public switched telephone network.
-
Citations
40 Claims
-
1. A method for facilitating communication between a computing system and an external system using a universal communication port, comprising the steps of:
-
equipping the computing system with at least one universal communication port presenting a plurality of coupler lines configured to engage a connector associated with one of a plurality of compatible external systems and presenting a plurality of connector lines for coupling the external system to the computer system, the universal communication port being configured to receive and initialize one of the plurality of compatible external systems, wherein at least two of the external systems include different connector lines, the different connector lines including different data or power line associations, the universal communication port being further configured to accept a plurality of different connector types; determining that an external system'"'"'s connector has been engaged with the with the universal communication port such that at least a first portion of the universal communication port'"'"'s coupler lines are electrically connected to at least a portion of the external system'"'"'s connector lines; performing an evaluation of at least one electrical property manifested in the first portion of coupler lines to determine whether data or power characteristics of the external system are identifiable from among the plurality of known compatible external systems with which the computing system can automatically interface using the universal communication port; based on the evaluation, detecting which external system has been connected to the universal communication port and determining whether the port'"'"'s data or power line associations are properly routed for communication with the external system; and when the evaluation indicates the external system is among the known compatible external systems with which the computing system can automatically interface using the universal communication port, automatically routing at least a second portion of the coupler lines to a corresponding converter subsystem according to the detected data or power line associations, the converter subsystem corresponding to the detected external system, the subsystem being configured to interface the computing system with the external system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A method for facilitating communication between a
computing system and an external system, comprising the steps of: -
equipping the computing system with at least one universal communication port presenting a plurality of coupler lines configured to engage a connector associated with one of a plurality of compatible external systems and presenting a plurality of connector lines for coupling the external system to the computer system, the universal communication port being configured to receive and initialize one of the plurality of compatible external systems, wherein at least two of the external systems include different connector lines, the different connector lines including different data or power line associations, the universal communication port being further configured to accept a plurality of different connector types, the external system including one of; a public switched telephone system; a telephone device; and a network connection; determining that an external system'"'"'s connector has been engaged with the with the universal communication port such that at least a first portion of the universal communication port'"'"'s coupler lines are engaged by at least a portion of the external system'"'"'s connector lines; performing an evaluation of at least one electrical property of the at least one of the first portion of the coupler lines to identify which external system has engaged the universal communication port and whether the port'"'"'s data or power line associations are properly routed for communication with the external system; and based on the identification of the external system, automatically routing a second portion of the coupler lines to a corresponding converter subsystem according to the detected data or power line associations, the converter subsystem corresponding to the identified external system, the subsystem being configured to interface the computing system with the external system, such that; when the external system includes a public switched telephone network, the second portion of the coupler lines is interconnected with a telephone interface; when the external system includes a telephone device, the second portion of the coupler lines is interconnected with a telephone converter enabling the telephone device to be used as an input or output device for a computing system application; and when the external system includes a network connection, the second portion of the coupler lines is interconnected with a network adapter that is configured to enable the computing system to communicate over the network connection. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
-
-
22. A system for facilitating communications with an external system, comprising:
-
(a) at least one user input device; (b) a display screen; (c) a processor; (d) a memory; (e) a bus operably coupling the user input device, the display screen, the processor, and the memory; and (f) an input or output interface in communication with the bus, the input/output interface comprising; (i) at least one universal communication port presenting a plurality of coupler lines configured to engage a connector associated with one of a plurality of compatible external systems and presenting a plurality of connector lines for coupling the external system to the computer system, the universal communication port being configured to receive and initialize one of the plurality of compatible external systems, wherein at least two of the external systems include different connector lines, the different connector lines including different data or power line associations, the universal communication port being further configured to accept a plurality of different connector types; (ii) a controller configured to; determine that an external system'"'"'s connector has been engaged with the with the universal communication port such that at least a first portion of the universal communication port'"'"'s coupler lines are electrically connected to at least a portion of the external system'"'"'s connector lines; perform an evaluation of at least one electrical property manifested in the first portion of coupler lines to determine whether data or power characteristics of the external system are identifiable from among the plurality of known compatible external systems with which the computing system can automatically interface using the universal communication port; based on the evaluation, detect which external system has been connected to the universal communication port and determining whether the port'"'"'s data or power line associations are properly routed for communication with the external system; and when the evaluation indicates the external system is among the known compatible external systems with which the computing system can automatically interface using the universal communication port, automatically routing at least a second portion of the coupler lines to a corresponding converter subsystem according to the detected data or power line associations, the converter subsystem corresponding to the detected external system, the subsystem being configured to interface the computing system with the external system. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
-
-
39. A system for facilitating communication between a computing system and external systems, comprising:
-
at least one universal communication port presenting a plurality of coupler lines configured to engage a connector associated with one of a plurality of compatible external systems and presenting a plurality of connector lines for coupling the external system to the computer system, the universal communication port being configured to receive and initialize one of the plurality of compatible external systems, wherein at least two of the external systems include different connector lines, the different connector lines including different data or power line associations, the universal communication port being further configured to accept a plurality of different connector types, the external system including one of; a public switched telephone system; a telephone device; and a network connection; a controller in communication with the plurality of coupler lines for each universal communication port and configured to; evaluate at least one electrical property of at least one of a first portion of the coupler lines from a coupler to identify which external system has engaged the universal communication port and whether the port'"'"'s data or power line associations are properly routed for communication with the external system; and based on the identification of the external system, automatically routing a second portion of the coupler lines to a corresponding converter subsystem according to the detected data or power line associations, the converter subsystem corresponding to the identified external system, the subsystem being configured to interface the computing system with the external system, such that; when the external system includes a public switched telephone network, the second portion of the coupler lines is interconnected with a telephone interface; when the external system includes a telephone device, the second portion of the coupler lines is interconnected with a telephone converter enabling the telephone device to be used as an input or output device for a computing system application; and when the external system includes a network connection, the second portion of the coupler lines is interconnected with a network adapter configured to enable the computing system to communicate over the network connection.
-
-
40. A method for facilitating communication between a computing system and an external system using a universal communication port, comprising the steps of:
-
equipping the computing system with at least one universal communication port presenting a plurality of coupler lines configured to engage an RJ-45 connector associated with one of a plurality of compatible external systems and presenting a plurality of connector lines for coupling the external system to the computer system, the universal communication port being configured to receive and initialize one of the plurality of compatible external systems, wherein at least two of the external systems include different connector lines, the different connector lines including different data or power line associations; determining that an external system'"'"'s RJ-45 connector has been engaged with the with the universal communication port such that at least a first portion of the universal communication port'"'"'s coupler lines are electrically connected to at least a portion of the external system'"'"'s connector lines; performing an evaluation of at least one electrical property manifested in the first portion of coupler lines to determine whether data or power characteristics of the external system are identifiable from among the plurality of known compatible external systems with which the computing system can automatically interface using the universal communication port; based on the evaluation, detecting which external system has been connected to the universal communication port and determining whether the port'"'"'s data or power line associations are properly routed for communication with the external system; and when the evaluation indicates the external system is among the known compatible external systems with which the computing system can automatically interface using the universal communication port, automatically routing at least a second portion of the coupler lines to a corresponding converter subsystem according to the detected data and/or power line associations, the converter subsystem corresponding to the detected external system, the subsystem being configured to interface the computing system with the external system.
-
Specification