Multi-line telephone calling
First Claim
1. A method of connecting a plain old telephone service (POTS) telephone call over a data network, the method comprising:
- receiving, at a class 5 central office switch, a POTS telephone call from a public switched telephone network (PSTN), wherein the telephone call is directed to a telephone number associated with a dedicated voice telephone line at a customer premises, the dedicated voice telephone line having connected thereto a plurality of telephones, at least some of which are configured to conduct POTS calls and voice over Internet Protocol (“
VoIP”
) calls;
determining, with the class 5 switch, whether one or more telephones associated with the telephone number are available to receive the call;
if none of the one or more telephones are available to receive the call, returning a busy signal in response to the POTS telephone call;
determining whether the dedicated voice telephone line is available to receive the telephone call as a POTS call;
if the dedicated voice telephone line is available, routing the telephone call to the dedicated voice telephone line;
if the dedicated voice telephone line is not available;
forwarding the telephone call from the class 5 end office switch to a data network service provider for completion over a data network;
transmitting a signal from the class 5 central office switch requesting that the data network service provider complete the call, the signal including the telephone number associated with the dedicated voice telephone line;
receiving, at a voice over VoIP gateway in the data network, the forwarded telephone call and the signal;
identifying at least one of the one or more telephones available to receive the call as a VoIP call;
establishing a data connection between the VoIP gateway and the identified at least one telephone, the at least one telephone being a VoIP telephone;
determining whether the VoIP telephone is available to receive the telephone call;
transmitting, based on a determination that the VoIP telephone is available, a ring signal from the VoIP gateway to the VoIP telephone;
determining, with the VoIP gateway, that the telephone call has been answered at the VoIP telephone;
setting a flag, at the data network service provider, indicating that the VoIP phone is busy;
reporting, from the data network service provider, notification that the telephone call has been answered by the VoIP telephone using Signaling System 7 (“
SS7”
) signaling;
receiving, at the class 5 central office switch, the notification from the data network service provider that the call has been answered; and
setting, at the class 5 central office switch, a status of the secondary telephone to busy.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Network architectures, methods, and operations for routing telephone calls are disclosed. A customer premise includes a conventional POTS dedicated communication line to a central office switch and a broadband connection to a data network. The central office switch and the data network are connected by a communication link. A first telephone call originated at the customer premise may be connected via the dedicated communication link. A second or subsequent call originated at the customer premise may be connected via the data network. Optionally, the same call identifier may be assigned to the first and second or subsequent calls.
87 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of connecting a plain old telephone service (POTS) telephone call over a data network, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a class 5 central office switch, a POTS telephone call from a public switched telephone network (PSTN), wherein the telephone call is directed to a telephone number associated with a dedicated voice telephone line at a customer premises, the dedicated voice telephone line having connected thereto a plurality of telephones, at least some of which are configured to conduct POTS calls and voice over Internet Protocol (“
VoIP”
) calls;determining, with the class 5 switch, whether one or more telephones associated with the telephone number are available to receive the call; if none of the one or more telephones are available to receive the call, returning a busy signal in response to the POTS telephone call; determining whether the dedicated voice telephone line is available to receive the telephone call as a POTS call; if the dedicated voice telephone line is available, routing the telephone call to the dedicated voice telephone line; if the dedicated voice telephone line is not available; forwarding the telephone call from the class 5 end office switch to a data network service provider for completion over a data network; transmitting a signal from the class 5 central office switch requesting that the data network service provider complete the call, the signal including the telephone number associated with the dedicated voice telephone line; receiving, at a voice over VoIP gateway in the data network, the forwarded telephone call and the signal; identifying at least one of the one or more telephones available to receive the call as a VoIP call; establishing a data connection between the VoIP gateway and the identified at least one telephone, the at least one telephone being a VoIP telephone; determining whether the VoIP telephone is available to receive the telephone call; transmitting, based on a determination that the VoIP telephone is available, a ring signal from the VoIP gateway to the VoIP telephone; determining, with the VoIP gateway, that the telephone call has been answered at the VoIP telephone; setting a flag, at the data network service provider, indicating that the VoIP phone is busy; reporting, from the data network service provider, notification that the telephone call has been answered by the VoIP telephone using Signaling System 7 (“
SS7”
) signaling;receiving, at the class 5 central office switch, the notification from the data network service provider that the call has been answered; and setting, at the class 5 central office switch, a status of the secondary telephone to busy. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for connecting a plain old telephone service (POTS) telephone call over a data network, the system comprising:
a class 5 central office switch configured to; receive a POTS telephone call from a public switched telephone network (PSTN), wherein the telephone call is directed to a telephone number associated with a dedicated voice telephone line at a customer premises, the dedicated voice telephone line having connected thereto a plurality of telephones, at least some of which are configured to conduct POTS calls and voice over Internet Protocol (“
VoIP”
) calls;determine whether one or more telephones associated with the telephone number are available to receive the call; if none of the one or more telephones are available to receive the call, returning a busy signal in response to the POTS telephone call; determine whether the dedicated voice telephone line is available to receive the telephone call as a POTS call; if the dedicated voice telephone line is available, route the telephone call to the dedicated voice telephone line; if the dedicated voice telephone line is not available; forward the telephone call from the class 5 end office switch to a data network service provider for completion over a data network; transmit a signal from the class 5 central office switch requesting that the data network service provider complete the call, the signal including the telephone number associated with the dedicated voice telephone line; receive a notification from the data network service provider that the call has been answered, the notification being delivered using Signaling System 7 (“
SS7”
) signaling; andset a status of the secondary telephone to busy. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Specification