Public wireless/cordless internet gateway

• US 6,721,306 B1
• Filed: 03/11/1997
• Issued: 04/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Services Corporation (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Farris, Robert D., Voit, Eric A., Curry, James E.
• Primary Examiner(s): VANDERPUYE, KENNETH N
• Application Number:
  US08/815,075
• Time in Patent Office: 2,590 Days
• Field of Search: 370/351, 370/352, 370/353, 370/354, 370/356, 370/400, 370/401, 370/389, 370/392, 370/463, 370/465, 370/357, 370/358, 370/339, 379/88.13, 379/88.17, 379/93.05, 379/93.06, 379/93.07, 379/93.08
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/16 WPBX [Wireless Private Branch Exchange]

Abstract

A localized wireless gateway system provides wireless telephone communication and provides access to a public packet data network, such as the Internet, for at least voice telephone type communications. The wireless gateway system includes a number of base stations, essentially built around computers with digital transceiver circuitry, which provide an air interface to a number of digital terminal devices. The terminal devices communicate audio information in a standard digitized and compressed data format. The base stations provide two-way communications of the audio data over a public packet switched data network, either directly or via a local area network and a server coupled to the public data network. A server and local area network provide local voice and data communications as well as voice and data communication access to the public packet data network.

Claims

1. A localized wireless gateway system, comprising:

a plurality of base station transceivers for providing two-way wireless voice frequency communication signals in a standard compressed digital data format to and from wireless telephone terminals within a local area, each of said base station transceivers comprising a client computer;

a local area data network directly coupled to each of the client computers; and

a server computer including an interface to the local area data network and an interface to a public packet data network, for processing the standard compressed digital data format signals for two-way packet communication thereof via the public packet data network and for signaling through the public packet data network to establish two-way voice communication sessions for the wireless telephone terminals through the public packet data network.

2. A system as in claim 1, wherein each of the base station transceivers further comprises:

a digital modulator coupled to an antenna;

a digital demodulator coupled to the antenna; and

an interface coupling the client computer to the local area data network.

3. A system as in claim 1, wherein the two-way packet communication conforms to the Internet Protocol (IP).

4. A system as in claim 3, wherein the local area data network carries communication signals confirming to a protocol selected from the group consisting of Internet Protocol (IP), Ethernet, and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM).

5. A system as in claim 3, wherein the standard compressed digital data format comprises a wireless telephone communication protocol for digitized and compressed voice communication.

6. A system as in claim 5, wherein the wireless telephone communication protocol comprises code excited linear predictive (CELP) coding or vector-sum excited linear predictive (VSELP) coding.

15. A system as in claim 1, wherein a wireless terminal of said plurality of wireless terminals initiates a telephone call to a destination terminal, said destination terminal receiving said telephone call as an incoming call.

16. A system as in claim 15, wherein an internet access server is connected to said public packet data network and said destination terminal is connected to said internet access server.

17. A system as in claim 16, wherein said destination terminal is a computer.

18. A system as in claim 16, wherein said server computer initiates said signaling through said public packet data network.

19. A system as in claim 16, wherein destination characters are entered into said wireless terminal, said destination characters being a destination number or domain name, said destination number or said domain name identifying said destination terminal.

20. A system as in claim 19, wherein said server computer initiates signaling to establish communication with said destination terminal, said server computer using said destination characters to initiate said signaling.

21. A system as in claim 20, wherein an internet telephone service registration server is connected to said public packet data network.

22. A system as in claim 20, wherein said internet telephone service registration server receives said destination characters, obtains the destination terminal address of said destination terminal, and transmits said destination terminal address to said server computer.

23. A system as in claim 22, wherein said server computer uses said destination terminal address to transmit a first signaling message to said destination terminal, said destination terminal receiving said first signaling message.

24. A system as in claim 23, wherein upon receipt of said first signaling message, said destination terminal generates a notification and transmits a status message, said notification notifying a called party, said status message indicating that said destination terminal is notifying said called party.

25. A system as in claim 24, wherein said server computer transmits said status message to a base station transceiver of said plurality of base station transceivers, said base station transceiver transmitting a ring-back signal to said wireless telephone terminal, said ring-back signal being transmitted as a standard compressed digital data format signal.

26. A system as in claim 25, wherein said destination terminal transmits a second signaling message when said called party activates said destination terminal, said destination terminal being activated to accept said incoming call, said second signaling message being received by said server computer.

27. A system as in claim 26, wherein upon receipt of said second signaling message, said server computer instructs said base station transceiver to end transmission of said ring-back signal.

7. A telecommunication system comprising:

a system of interlinked data networks using TCP/IP protocol;

a plurality of terminal devices coupled for data communication via the system of interlinked networks, at least one of the terminal devices having two-way audio communication capabilities; and

a localized wireless gateway system, comprising;

a plurality of base station transceivers for providing two-way wireless voice frequency communication signals in a standard compressed digital data format to and from wireless telephone terminals within a local area, each of said base station transceivers comprising (a) a client computer including a central processing unit, (b) a digital modulator and a digital demodulator controlled by the central processing unit for wireless communication of audio signals in the standard compressed digital data format over a predetermined air interface with the wireless telephone terminals, and (c) a local area data network interface to a data network for connection to a server,

a local area data network directly interconnecting the local network interfaces of the base station transceivers for carrying data packets in a predefined packet data protocol, and

a public network interface comprising a server computer including an interface to the local area data network and an interface to the system of interlinked data networks, for processing the audio signals in the standard compressed digital data format for two-way packet communication thereof via the system of interlinked data networks and for signaling through the system of interlinked data networks to establish two-way voice communication sessions through the system of interlinked data networks.

8. A telecommunication system as in claim 7, further comprising a home location register database coupled for two-way signaling communication via the system of interlinked data networks.

10. A telecommunication system as in claim 7, further comprising a telephone network gateway, operationally connected between the system of interlinked data networks and a public telephone network, for providing voice telephone communications to and from telephones coupled to the public telephone network.

11. A telecommunication system as in claim 7, wherein the system of interlinked data networks comprises the Internet.

12. A telecommunication system as in claim 7, wherein the local data network carries communication signals conforming to a protocol selected from the group consisting of Internet Protocol (IP), Ethernet, and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM).

13. A telecommunication system as in claim 7, wherein the standard compressed digital data format comprises a wireless telephone communication protocol for digitized and compressed voice communication.

14. A telecommunication system as in claim 13, wherein the wireless telephone communication protocol comprises code excited linear predictive (CELP) coding or vector-sum excited linear predictive (VSELP) coding.

9. A telecommunication system comprising:

a system of interlinked data networks using TCP/IP protocol;

a plurality of terminal devices coupled for data communication via the system of interlinked networks, at least one of the terminal devices having two-way audio communication capabilities;

a domain name server coupled for two-way signaling communication via the system of interlinked data networks; and

a plurality of base station transceivers for providing two-way wireless voice frequency communication signals in a standard compressed digital data format to and from wireless telephone terminals within a local area, each of said base station transceivers comprising (a) a client computer including a central processing unit, (b) a digital modulator and a digital demodulator controlled by the central processing unit for wireless communication of audio signals in the standard compressed digital data format over a predetermined air interface with the wireless telephone terminals, and (c) a local area data network interface to a data network for connection to a server,

a local area data network directly interconnecting the local network interfaces of the base station transceivers for carrying data packets in a predefined packet data protocol, and

a public network interface at said server coupled between the local area data network and the system of interlinked data networks.