Systems and methods for implementing internet video conferencing using standard phone calls

• US 8,624,956 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2008
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Data Services LLC (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Moshrefi, Afshin, Ghaffari, Reza
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramakrishnaiah, Melur
• Application Number:
  US12/347,851
• Publication Number:
  US 20090115837A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,833 Days
• Field of Search: 348 1401- 1416, 370/352, 370/261, 370/432, 370/468, 379/202.01
• US Class Current: 348/14.08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/14 Systems for two-way working H04N7/12, H04N7/173 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

A video conferencing system (100) includes a switch (125), a server (140), a telephony device (152), and a node (102) in a packet-switched network (135). The switch (125) establishes a circuit-switched connection between a calling party number and a called party number. The server (140) associates first and second network addresses in a packet-switched network (135) with each of the called party and calling party numbers. The telephony device (152) transmits audio data via the circuit-switched connection. The node (102) in the packet-switched network (135) transmits packetized video between the first and second network addresses responsive to establishment of the circuit-switched connection.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

establishing, via a server device, a circuit-switched connection between a first device associated with a first party and a second device associated with a second party;

based on establishing the circuit-switched connection, retrieving, via the server device and from a memory, a first network address and a second network address for a packet switched network, the first address being associated with a third device associated with the first party, and the second network address being associated with a fourth device associated with the second party;

establishing, via the server device and on the packet-switched network, a packet-switched connection between the third device and the second device, the packet-switched connection being based on the first network address and the second network address;

terminating the circuit-switched connection based on establishing the packet-switched connection; and

transmitting video, for a video conference between the third device and the fourth device, via the packet-switched connection.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting audio for the video conference via the packet-switched connection.

3. The method of claim 2, where transmitting the video and transmitting the audio are contemporaneous.

4. The method of claim 1, where the first device is a first telephone associated with the first party, and

where the second device is a second telephone associated with the second party.

5. The method of claim 4,

where a first telephone number is associated with the first telephone, and

where a second telephone number is associated with the second telephone.

6. The method of claim 5, where retrieving the first network address and the second network address includes:

searching the memory using the first telephone number to identify the first network address; and

searching the memory using the second telephone number to identify the second network address.

7. The method of claim 1, where the third device includes a first computer associated with the first party, and

where the fourth device includes a second computer associated with the second party.

8. The method of claim 1, where the packet-switched network comprises an Internet.

9. The method of claim 1, where each of the first network address and the second network address comprises an internet protocol (IP) address.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, by the server device, the first network address and the second network address, respectively, to the second device and the first device via the circuit-switched connection.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium to store instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions that, when executed by a processor in a computer device, cause the processor to;

establish a circuit-switched connection between a first device associated with a first party and a second device associated with a second party;

based on establishing the circuit-switched connection, retrieve, from a memory, a first network address and a second network address on a packet switched network, the first network address being associated with a third device associated with the first party, and the second network address being associated with a fourth device associated with the second party;

establish, on a packet-switched network and based on the first network address and the second network address, a packet-switched connection between the third device and the fourth device;

terminate the circuit-switched connection based on establishing the packet switched connection; and

transmit video and audio for a video conference via the packet-switched connection.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, where the first device is a first telephone associated with the first party,

the second device is a second telephone associated with the second party,

where a first telephone number is associated with the first telephone, and

where a second telephone number is associated with the second telephone.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, where the one or more instructions to retrieve the first network address and the second network address include:

one or more instructions to search the memory using the first telephone number to identify the first network address; and

one or more instructions to search the memory using the second telephone number to identify the second network address.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, where the third device is a first computer associated with the first party,

where the fourth device is a second computer associated with the second party,

where the packet-switched network comprises an Internet, and

where each of the first network address and the first network address comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, where the one or more instructions to establish the packet-switched connection include:

one or more instructions to transmit the first network address and the second network address, respectively, to the second device and the first device via the circuit-switched connection.

16. A device, comprising:

a memory; and

a processor to;

receive a called party identifier of a called party from a calling party having a calling party identifier,

establish a circuit-switched connection based on the called party identifier and the calling party identifier,

based on establishing the circuit-switched connection, determine, through access to the memory, a called party Internet protocol (IP) address based on the called party identifier and a calling party IP address based on the calling party identifier,

establish a packet-switched connection based on the called party IP address and the calling party IP address,

terminate the circuit-switched connection based on establishing the packet-switched connection,

forward, via the packet-switched connection, first video and audio data from the calling party IP address to the called party IP address, and

forward, via the packet-switched connection, second video and audio data from the called party IP address to calling party IP address.

17. The device of claim 16, where the processor, when establishing the packet-switched connection, is further to:

receive a request from the calling party to initiate a video conference;

send a notification message to the calling party and the called party to request acceptance of the video conference;

receive return messages from each of the calling party and the called party, each of the return messages accepting the video conference; and

establish, using the packet-switched connection, the video conference based on receiving the return messages.

18. The device of claim 17, where the processor, when sending the notification message and receiving the return messages, is further to implement an instant messaging protocol.

19. The device of claim 16, where each of the called party identifier and the calling party identifier is a public switched telephone network (PSTN) telephone number.

20. The device of claim 16, where the processor, when determining the called party IP address and the calling party IP address, is further to:

access a first database, in the memory, associating the called party identifier with the called party IP address, and

access a second database, in the memory, associating the calling party identifier with the calling party IP address.

21. The device of claim 16, where the processor, when establishing the packet-switched connection, is further to

transmit, via the circuit-switched connection, the calling party IP address to the called party and the called party IP address to the calling party.