Internet telephony through hosts

• US 8,073,977 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2004
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Original Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Inventors: Kahng, Andrew B., Sharma, Puneet, Cox, Jonathan
• Primary Examiner(s): BLAIR, DOUGLAS B
• Application Number:
  US10/569,569
• Publication Number:
  US 20070005729A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,650 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/238, 709/249
• US Class Current: 709/249
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1046 Call controllers; Call servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1063 Application servers providing network services systems providing special services to telephonic subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42

Abstract

Systems of the invention employ peer-to-peer and centralized server networking to enable POTS/PSTN/PBX phone lines to be shared with other users of the system over the Internet. An example application of the invention is to allow a person, having access to an Internet connection, to receive calls and make calls using his/her home or office telephone, or using the phones of other parties that he/she is authorized to access. In preferred embodiments, the invention can exploit availability of an existing voice modem port on the user'"'"'s home or office computer, and can require only the installation of software on the home or office computer, and on whatever device (laptop, PDA, computer, mobile phones, etc.) is employed by the user in the remote location. Variant realizations of the invention may also provide any combination of features typically available to phone users, including, for example, the following features: authentication, verification, directory services, directory search, access rights, call forwarding, call answering, voice, mail, missed-call information, call screening, and caller identification.

Claims

1. A method for providing telephony services through the Internet, the method comprising:

by a server available through the Internet, communicating with a plurality of hosts, said plurality of hosts comprising personal computers, each host being connected to a local phone service via a local phone line and to the server via the Internet, the server communicating with clients through the Internet to provide clients access to local phone services and communications through the local phone lines of the plurality of hosts, wherein the server routes a phone call from a client through the Internet to an available host that is in the local area of the destination of the phone call by searching a directory of available hosts and providing a client an available host for the phone call so that the client and available host can communicate directly without sending data through the server, and the phone call proceeds through the local phone service of the available host that is in the local area via the local phone line of the available host that is in the local area via data exchange between the available host and the client without sending data through the server.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said local phone lines of said plurality of hosts comprises home and/or office telephone connections.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said home and/or office telephone connections comprise telephone company customer connections.

4. A server computer accessible through the Internet, the server computer being configured to provide access control to a remote client that accesses phone services and a plurality of phone lines through a plurality of host computers to provide the remote client via the Internet with local phone services and communications through the plurality of phone lines available through the plurality of host computers, said plurality of host computers comprising personal computers, wherein the server computer routes a phone call from the remote client through the Internet to an available host that is in the local area of the destination of the phone call by searching a directory of available host computers and providing the remote client an available host computer for the phone call so that the remote client and available host computer can communicate directly without sending data through the server, and the phone call proceeds through the local phone service of the available host computer that is in the local area via the local phone line of the available host computer that is in the local area via data exchange between the available host computer and the remote client without sending data through the server.

5. The server of claim 4, wherein the server computer is configured to provide one or more of the following services:

authentication, tunneling, initiation of peer-to-peer communication, routing, directory, directory search, and access rights.

6. The server of claim 4, wherein said plurality of local phone lines comprise home and/or office telephone connections.

7. A host computer having access to a local phone line that connects to a local phone service and an Internet connection, the host computer comprising a personal computer being configured to provide Internet server-enabled access to the local phone line and service via a server that controls access to the host computer and to a plurality of other hosts computers by identifying available local host computers in response to client requests for communication through the local phone line via an internet connection and by permitting a client to exchange data with the host computer without sending data through the server to utilize the local phone service through the local phone line, wherein the host computer exchanges data with the client without sending data through the server to route a server-enabled client phone call having a destination in the host'"'"'s local phone service from the Internet through the local phone service of the host computer via the local phone line.

8. The host of claim 7, wherein a server controls client access to the host.

9. The host of claim 8, wherein the server is configured to provide one or more of the following services:

directory search, voicemail and missed calls, call answering, and call initiation.

10. The host computer of claim 7, wherein said local phone line comprises a home or office telephone connection.

11. A client device enabled to access a plurality of local phone services of a plurality of host computers, said plurality of host computers comprising personal computers connected to the plurality of local phone services via a plurality of local phone lines, the client accessing the plurality of local phone services and phone lines of the plurality of host computers through an Internet connection controlled by a server computer, the client device having functions for requesting access to the local phone service, and for performing communications through an established connection with the local phone services via the local phone lines, wherein the client device requests Internet access from the service to an available host computer that is in the local service of the destination of a phone call and, when the server grants access by identifying an available host computer to the client, and the client exchanges data with the available host computer without sending data through the server to direct the phone call through the Internet to the available host computer that is in the local service so that the call proceeds through the local phone service of the available host computer that is in the local area via the local phone line of the available host computer that is in the local area.

12. The client of claim 11, wherein the client device is configured to provide one or more of the following services:

phone line interface, authentication, verification, call forwarding, call answering, voice mail and missed calls, and local-call routing.

13. The client device of claim 11, wherein said plurality of local phone lines comprise home and/or office telephone connections.

14. A system for providing phone services to Internet users through the Internet, the system comprising:

a plurality of host computers, said plurality of host computers comprising personal computers, each host computer having access to a local phone service through a local phone line; and

at least one server that controls access between said plurality of host computers and phone service clients seeking to access local phone services through the local phone lines of the plurality of host computers through the Internet, wherein the server routes an Internet user phone call through the Internet to a host computer that is in the local area of the destination of the phone call by searching a directory of available host computers and providing the remote client an available host computer for the phone call so that the remote client and available host computer can communicate directly without sending data through the server so that the phone call proceeds through the local phone service of the available host computer that is in the local area via the local phone line of the available host computer that is in the local area via data exchange between the available host computer and the client without sending data through the server.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein said local phone lines of said plurality of hosts comprises home and/or office telephone connections.

16. A business method, the method comprising charging clients for access through a computer server to a system comprising:

a plurality of host computers and enabling client computers to access via the Internet the system comprising a plurality of host computers through the computer server, said plurality of host computers comprising personal computers, each of the plurality of host computers having access to a local phone service through a local phone line;

the computer server controlling client computer access to the plurality of local phone services through the local phone lines; and

permitting the access by a client computer upon verification of access rights of the client computer and by searching a directory of available host computers and providing the remote client an available host computer for an Internet user phone call so that the remote client and available host computer can communicate directly without sending data through the server, wherein the server routes the Internet user phone call through the Internet to a host computer that is in the local area of the destination of the phone call so that the phone call proceeds through the local phone service of the host computer that is in the local area via the local phone line of the host computer that is in the local area via data exchange between the available host computer and the client without sending data through the server.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said local phone lines of said plurality of hosts comprises home and/or office telephone connections.

18. A business method, the method comprising providing virtual local phone service for a fee by providing a simulation of local phone service and voice communications to remote client devices that access a computer server through the Internet, the computer server providing the simulation of local phone service by controlling access to a plurality of host computers by maintaining a directory of available host computers and responding to client device requests by identifying an available host computer in a local area, said plurality of host computers comprising personal computers connected to local phone services by a plurality of local phone lines such that a client call from a remote client device is routed through the Internet and an available host computer to a destination served by a local phone service of the available host computer via the host computer'"'"'s local phone line via data exchange between the available host computer and the client device without sending data through the server.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said plurality of local phone lines comprise home and/or office telephone connections.