Telephone terminal, telephone communication system, and telephone terminal configuration program

• US 8,774,388 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2007
• Issued: 07/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Original Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Inventors: Usuba, Shinji, Satoh, Tatsuya, Yamaguchi, Kouki
• Primary Examiner(s): Nawaz, Asad
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, PARTHKUMAR
• Application Number:
  US11/896,272
• Publication Number:
  US 20080080694A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,504 Days
• Field of Search: 370/466, 370/335, 370/356, 370/338, 370/352, 370/486, 370/232, 709/228, 710/1, 717/171, 375/240.24, 482/1, 707/100
• US Class Current: 379/219
• 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 1/6025 implemented as integrated speech networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0072 Speech codec negotiation H04L65/1069 takes precedence

Abstract

A telephone terminal executes voice communication with a partner telephone terminal by using a selected codec program to code and decode voice signals. Both telephone terminals have facilities for storing codec programs and transferring codec programs over a communication network. During a voice call, one of the two telephone terminals may transfer a codec program to the other telephone terminal, and the call may then proceed by use of the transferred codec program. This enables voice communication to take place with the best codec program that either telephone terminal can provide, even if the two telephone terminals are associated with different communication systems.

Claims

1. A telephone terminal, comprising:

a memory for storing a plurality of codec programs with respective priorities, each of the codec programs being executed to code and decode voice signals;

a codec selection processor operative to negotiate with a partner telephone terminal to use a common codec program from the codec programs, the common codec program being stored at both the telephone terminal and the partner telephone terminal;

a voice processor operative to execute the common codec program to code and decode voice signals during voice communication with the partner telephone terminal; and

a transmitting processor operative to transfer a particular codec program stored in the memory to the partner telephone terminal over a communication network, wherein

the codec selection processor selects a codec program, which is not stored at the partner telephone terminal and has a higher priority than a priority of the common codec program, from the plurality of codec programs stored in the memory, during the voice communication in which the voice signals are coded and decoded by executing the common codec program,

the transmitting processor transfers the selected codec program to the partner telephone terminal during the voice communication in which the voice signals are coded and decoded by executing the common codec program, the transmitting processor transferring the selected codec program together with a deletion condition instructing the partner telephone terminal to delete the selected codec program after the voice communication is completed, and the deletion condition instructs the partner telephone terminal to delete the selected codec program after a designated number of voice communication sessions have been completed without using the selected codec program, and

the voice processor switches from executing the common codec program to executing the selected codec program during the voice communication in which the voice signals are coded and decoded by executing the common codec program.

2. The telephone terminal of claim 1, wherein the telephone terminal and the partner telephone terminal are terminals of different telephone communication systems.

3. The telephone terminal of claim 1, wherein the telephone terminal is an Internet protocol softphone.

4. The telephone terminal of claim 1, wherein the selected codec program provides higher voice quality than the common codec program.

5. The telephone terminal of claim 1, wherein the transmitting processor begins transferring the selected codec program automatically in response to a command from the codec selection processor.

6. The telephone terminal of claim 1, further comprising an operation unit for receiving commands from a human user,

wherein the transmitting processor begins transferring the selected codec program in response to a command from the human user.

7. The telephone terminal of claim 1, wherein the deletion condition instructs the partner telephone terminal to delete the selected codec program after elapse of a designated time from completion of the voice communication unless voice communication between the telephone terminal and the partner telephone terminal resumes within the designated time.

8. The telephone terminal of claim 1, further comprising a downloading processor operative to download a codec program from a codec server connected to the communication network and store the downloaded codec program in the memory.

9. A telephone communication system comprising a plurality of telephone terminals as recited in claim 1, wherein codec programs are transferred between the telephone terminals.

10. The telephone communication system of claim 9, further comprising a codec server for transferring a transferred codec program to the telephone terminals.

11. The telephone communication system of claim 10, wherein the codec server also transfers a wrapper to adapt the transferred codec program to the telephone terminals causing the telephone terminals to execute the transferred codec program.

12. The telephone terminal of claim 1, further comprising a receiving processor operative to receive a codec program that is not stored at the telephone terminal from the partner telephone terminal through the communication network during the voice communication and store the received codec program in the memory during the voice communications, wherein

the voice processor switches from executing the common codec program to executing the received codec program during the voice communication.

13. The telephone terminal of claim 12, wherein the receiving processor assigns a priority, that is higher than any other of the priorities, to the received codec program.

14. The telephone terminal of claim 12, further comprising a downloading processor operative to download a codec program from a codec server connected to the communication network and store the downloaded codec program in the memory, wherein

the receiving processor assigns a priority, that is higher than any other of the priorities, to the downloaded codec program.

15. The telephone terminal of claim 1, wherein the transmitter processor transfers the selected codec program while voice IP packets are being transferred between said telephone terminal and said partner telephone terminal.

16. A non-transitory machine-readable media storing a program executable by a computer having a memory to configure the computer to operate as a telephone terminal, the program including instructions that execute the following steps:

negotiating with a partner telephone terminal to use a common codec program, the common codec program being stored at both the telephone terminal and the partner telephone terminal;

executing the common codec program to code and decode voice signals during voice communication with the partner telephone terminal;

selecting a codec program, which is not stored at the partner telephone terminal and has a higher priority than a priority of the common codec program, from a plurality of codec programs with respective priorities stored in the memory, during the voice communication in which the voice signals are coded and decoded by executing the common codec program;

transmitting over a communication network the selected codec program from the telephone terminal to the partner telephone terminal during the voice communication in which the voice signals are coded and decoded by executing the common codec program, the transmitting including transferring the selected codec program together with a deletion condition instructing the partner telephone terminal to delete the selected codec program after the voice communication is completed, and the deletion condition instructs the partner telephone terminal to delete the selected codec program after a designated number of voice communication sessions have been completed without using the selected codec program; and

switching from executing the common codec program to executing the selected codec program during the voice communication in which the voice signals are coded and decoded by executing the common codec program.

17. The media of claim 16, wherein the transmitting the selected codec program occurs while voice IP packets are being transferred between said telephone terminal and said partner telephone terminal.