Internet switch box, system and method for internet telephony

Abstract

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 telephony. When two users, each having an Internet switch box connected to the telephone set, wish to have an Internet telephony conversation, one calls the other over the PSTN. When they agree to an Internet telephony 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 telephony. 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 telephony. The users can also prearrange to call each other solely by Internet telephony, in which case they do not need to talk to each other over the PSTN.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This is a divisional application of Ser. No. 10 / 003,047, filed Dec. 6, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,272 which is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09 / 029,839, filed Mar. 9, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,377,570 which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08 / 810,148 filed Feb. 25, 1997 now abandoned.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to Internet telephony, i.e., placing telephone calls over a specific secondary network, such as the Internet, by way of a standard telephone connection using the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).[0003]DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART[0004]The technique of using the Internet to carry on telephone communications is commonly referred to as Internet Telephony (IT) or, sometimes, Voice on the Net (VON). IT is a way to communicate over the Internet that bypasses PSTN toll connections. IT can be advantageous for individuals and businesses that need or want to communicate extensivel...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The ISB provides low-cost, user-friendly Internet telephony by eliminating the need for PCs, preserving voice quality, and allowing users to select between Internet and PSTN networks based on cost and convenience, while maintaining the advantages of low-cost Internet bandwidth.

Problems solved by technology

Current PCIT techniques are not compatible with shell accounts, which are accounts in which a user logs on through terminal emulation to a remote machine running Unix or the like and accesses the Internet through that remote machine in text mode by typing commands at a prompt.

These packages are mutually incompatible; two users wishing to make a PCIT connection must have the same software package.

There are, however, disadvantages associated with the present state of IT or VON.

Not only is the hardware described above expensive, but extensive knowledge of computers and the Internet is also required, making IT intimidating to a majority of the population who would otherwise like to take advantage of this capability.

Setting the modems twice is time-consuming.

Also, such devices cannot be used for calls which take place entirely by way of IT, since they have no way of exchanging the IP address related information to locate each other.

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