US 8,553,681 B2Granted

Telephone service via packet-switched networking

AssigneeVerizon Services Corp.

InventorsPatrick E. White, Robert D. Farris

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A system and method for providing telephone type services over the internetwork commonly known as the Internet. Public switched telephone networks utilizing program controlled switching systems are arranged in an architecture with the Internet to provide a methodology for facilitating telephone use of the Internet by customers on an impromptu basis. Provision is made to permit a caller to set-up and carry out a telephone call over the Internet from telephone station to telephone station without access to computer equipment, without the necessity of maintaining a subscription to any Internet service, and without the requiring Internet literacy or knowledge. Calls may be made on an inter or intra LATA, region or state, nationwide or worldwide basis. Billing may be implemented on a per call, timed, time and distance or other basis. Usage may be made of common channel interoffice signaling to set up the call and establish the necessary Internet connections and addressing. Calls may be made from telephone station to telephone station, from telephone station to computer or computer to telephone station.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A method comprising:

detecting an off-hook condition of a calling station, the calling station associated with a telephone number of the calling station;
subsequent to detecting the off-hook condition, receiving dialed digits from the calling station, the dialed digits indicating a call request and a telephone number of a called party;
providing a request to a routing database, the request including at least a portion of the telephone number of the called party;
receiving in response to the request an identity of a gateway to the called party;
sending a first signaling message over a packet-switched network to the gateway using the identity of the gateway, the first signaling message including the telephone number of the called party;
receiving the first signaling message at the gateway;
formulating an SS7 signaling message in response to the first signaling message, the SS7 signaling message including the telephone number of the calling station and the telephone number of the called party;
sending the SS7 signaling message from the gateway over a connection to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) system;
receiving at the gateway over the connection to the PSTN system an indication that the called party is at least one of busy or available;
when the indication received at the gateway indicates that the calling party is busy, sending a second signaling message from the gateway over the packet-switched network indicating the called party is busy;
when the indication received at the gateway indicates that the called party is available, sending a third signaling message from the gateway over the packet-switched network indicating the called party is available;
recording billing information associated with the call request.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/705,965Filed 15 Feb 2010 · continuation
Priority: 26 Jun 1996
Published: US 2010/0150142 A117 Jun 2010
Granted: 8 Oct 2013
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification14 codes

H04Q 3/0045
Provisions for intelligent networking: involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems
H04M 3/4228
Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers: in networks
H04M 3/42297
In networks: with number portability
H04M 3/54
Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers: arrangements for diverting calls for one subscriber to another predetermined…

Family

Application08/670,908Parent of this continuation · filed 26 Jun 1996
Application09/441,565Parent of this continuation · filed 17 Nov 1999
US 6,069,890 AParent of this continuation · filed 30 May 2000
Application10/807,215Parent of this continuation · filed 22 Mar 2004
US 6,711,241 B1Parent of this continuation · filed 23 Mar 2004
US 2010/0150142 A1Pre-grant publication · published 17 Jun 2010
US 7,664,097 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2004/0174880 A1Published application
US 8,553,681 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.