Voice over data conferencing for a computer-based personal communications system

A personal communication system for use with a telephone network and a personal computer to perform voice over data conferencing, comprising:

• data interface means connected for transferring data to and from the personal computer;
• telephone line interface means for connection to a plurality of telephone lines including a first telephone line and a second telephone line;
• telephone handset means for receiving local voice signals from a local user and for conveying remote voice signals from a remote user to the local user;
• full-duplex conversion means connected to the telephone handset means for converting the local voice signals into outgoing digital voice data and for converting incoming digital voice data into the remote voice signals;
• voice compression means connected to the full-duplex conversion means for compressing the outgoing digital voice data into compressed outgoing digital voice data and for decompressing compressed incoming digital voice data into the incoming digital voice data;
• main control means connected for
• receiving the compressed outgoing digital voice data from the voice compression means,
• receiving outgoing conventional digital data from the personal computer through the data interface means,
• multiplexing and transmitting compressed outgoing digital voice data with the outgoing conventional digital data using advanced priority statistical multiplexing, and
• passing the remote voice signals to the second telephone line.

A method for conferencing, comprising the steps of:

• (1) detecting a hybrid frame by one or more modems, the hybrid frame containing high priority data and low priority data, including the steps:
• (2) receiving a byte in the hybrid frame;
• (3) if the byte is a high priority data identifier, receiving one or more high priority data bytes following the byte in the hybrid frame;
• (4) if the byte in the hybrid frame is not a high priority data identifier, receiving one or more bytes of low priority data, the number of low priority bytes not to exceed the interrupt boundary byte count, wherein the interrupt boundary byte count is equal to a total number of bytes transferable in a high priority packet time minus a maximum number of high priority bytes generated in the high priority packet time, and wherein the high priority packet time is an interval of time between a generation of a plurality of high priority bytes;
• and
• (5) returning to step (2) until a last data byte of the hybrid frame is received.