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Internet switch box, system and method for internet telephony
| Details |
Inventors: Vaziri, Faramarz; Wimsatt, John D.;
Assignee: FoneFriend Systems, Inc. (Washington, DC)
Primary Examiner: Patel; Ajit
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Stevens, Davis, Miller & Mosher, LLP
An Internet switch box connects between a telephone set and a public switched telephone network (PSTN) line, the latter of which is used both for PSTN telephone conversations and for connection to an Internet service provider (ISP). The switch box contains hardware and embedded software for establishing a connection to an ISP and for Internet telephone. When two users, each having an Internet switch box connected to the telephone set, wish to have an Internet telephone conversation, one calls the other over the PSTN. When they agree to an Internet telephone conversation, they signal their Internet switch boxes, by pressing either buttons on the switch boxes or certain keys on the telephone keypads, to switch to Internet telephone. The switch boxes disconnect the PSTN call and connect to their ISPs. Once the switch boxes are on the Internet, they contact each other through a server which supplies Internet protocol (IP) addresses of switch boxes, and the users continue their conversation by Internet telephone. The users can also prearrange to call each other solely by Internet telephone, in which case they do not need to talk to each other over the PSTN. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is an object of the invention to allow a user to make telephone calls via the Internet without a need for an expensive multimedia-capable personal computer.
It is another object of the invention to allow a user to make telephone calls via the Internet without a need to configure such a computer for a SLIP or PPP connection to the Internet.
It is a further object of the invention to allow a user to select a route for a telephone call (the Internet, the conventional PSTN, a dedicated network, etc.
) and to use a single device for the call regardless of which route is selected.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a device and method for Internet telephony which are easy to use, do not require a computer and offer superb voice quality.
To these and other ends, the present invention is directed to a terminal device or Internet switch box (ISB) for connecting a first telephone set and a second telephone set over a selected one of a primary network and a secondary network, the switch box comprising: primary network connecting means for connecting the first telephone set to the primary network; secondary network connecting means for connecting the first telephone set to the secondary network and for establishing a connection over the secondary network between the first telephone set and the second telephone set; relay means for (i) connecting, when the relay means is in a first state, the first telephone set to the primary network connecting means and for (ii) connecting, when the relay means is in a second state, the first telephone set to the secondary network connecting means; and switching means for receiving a switch-over command to switch from the primary network to the secondary network and for controlling, in response to the switch-over command, (i) the relay means to disconnect the first telephone set from the primary network connecting means and to connect the first telephone set to the secondary network connecting means and (ii) the secondary network connecting means to establish the connection over the secondary network between the first telephone set and the second telephone set
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