Title of Invention	A SYSTEM FOR EFFECTING A TELEPHONE CALL OVER A COMPUTER NETWORK WITHOUT ALPHANUMERIC KEYPAD OPERATION
Abstract	A system for effecting a telephone call between telephonic devices is operative to use a computer network, without manual use of the alphanumeric keypads. A third party call control (3PCC) application program interface (API) provides the capability for users to use a web browser or other Internet capable software to place a call, rather than using the telephone keypad. A third party call control application program interface includes a uniform resource locator operable over the Internet to cause a call between a first telephonic device and a second telephonic device to be completed. The uniform resource locator includes identification of the first telephonic device and identification of the second telephonic device.

Title of Invention

A SYSTEM FOR EFFECTING A TELEPHONE CALL OVER A COMPUTER NETWORK WITHOUT ALPHANUMERIC KEYPAD OPERATION

Abstract

A system for effecting a telephone call between telephonic devices is operative to use a computer network, without manual use of the alphanumeric keypads. A third party call control (3PCC) application program interface (API) provides the capability for users to use a web browser or other Internet capable software to place a call, rather than using the telephone keypad. A third party call control application program interface includes a uniform resource locator operable over the Internet to cause a call between a first telephonic device and a second telephonic device to be completed. The uniform resource locator includes identification of the first telephonic device and identification of the second telephonic device.

Full Text	WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 A SYSTEM FOR EFFECTING A TELEPHONE CALL OVER A COMPUTER NETWORK WITHOUT ALPHANUMERIC KEYPAD OPERATION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for effecting a telephone call between telephonic devices. The present invention also relates to novel uses of a web browser and Internet capable software. 2. Description of the Related Art Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a category of hardware and software that enables the user to use a computer network such as the Internet as the transmission medium for telephone calls by sending voice data in packets using Internet Protocol (IP) rather than by traditional circuit transmissions of the Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN). This eliminates circuit switching and the associated waste of bandwidth. Instead, packet switching is used, wherein IP packets with voice data are sent over the network only when data needs to be sent, i.e. when a party to the call is speaking. The advantages of VoIP over traditional telephony include, by way example, lower costs per call, especially for long-distance calls, and lower infrastructure costs. That is, once the IP infrastructure is installed, no or little additional telephony infrastructure is required. However, despite the technological flexibility of a VoIP system, callers are still limited to initiating calls manually, that is by using the keypad on a telephone. 1 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 there is an art desired need to greatly reduce or eliminate the user's manual activities in initiating a telephone call, including the telephone keypad operation. OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a system for effecting a telephone call between telephonic devices using a computer network without manual use of the telephonic device keypads. The third party call control (3PCC) application program interface (API) of the present invention provides the capability for users to use a web browser or other Internet capable software to place a call. This eliminates using the telephone keypad. The open, nature of the API also provides the capability to integrate 3PCC functionality with new or existing applications, such as customer relationship management (CRM), contact management applications, and the like. In one embodiment of the present invention, a third party call control application program interface includes a first uniform resource locator operable over the Internet to cause a call or connection between a first telephonic device and a second telephonic device to be completed. The first uniform resource locator includes identification of the first telephonic device and identification of the second telephonic device. In one aspect of the present invention, the first uniform resource locator may be generated on a computer system that is communicatively connected to the Internet. The call may be completed by initiating a call to the first telephone device and transferring the call, so as to complete the call, to the second telephone device, when the call to the first telephone device is answered. The call may be initiated to the first telephone device using the Session Initiation Protocol INVITE method. The call may be transferred to the second telephone device using the Session Initiation Protocol REFER method. 2 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 In one aspect of the present invention, the identification of the first telephonic device may include identification of a telephone number of the first telephone device and the identification of the second telephonic device may include a telephone number of the second telephonic device. The telephonic devices may be conventional telephones. However, the present invention contemplates any present or fixture telephonic device. The third party call control application program may further include identification of an account to be billed. The identification of the first telephonic device includes a telephone number of the first telephone device and the identification of the second telephonic device includes a telephone number of the second telephonic device. The identification of the account to be billed may include the telephone number of the first telephonic device, the telephone number of the second telephonic device, or the telephone number of a third telephonic device. In one further aspect of the present invention, the third party call control application program may further include a second uniform resource locator operable over the Internet to obtain information identifying an account to be billed. The information identifying an account to be billed may also include at least one telephone number. At least one of the first uniform resource locator identification of the first telephone device and the first uniform resource locator identification of the second telephone device may include at least one telephone number obtained by the second uniform resource locator. In a still further aspect of the present invention, the third party call control application program includes identification and password information; such information is authenticated and validated before the call is completed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is an exemplary block diagram of the system in which the present invention may be implemented; 3 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 Fig. 2 is an exemplary diagram of an implementation of a contact list interface to functionality of the present invention; and Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a vcard implementing functionality of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The third party call control (3PCC) application program interface (API) of the present invention provides the capability for users to use a web browser or other Internet capable software to place a call. This eliminates using a keypad such as the alpha/numeric keypad on a conventional telephone. The open nature of the API also provides the capability to integrate 3PCC functionality with new or existing, applications like customer relationship management (CRM), contact management applications, and the like. A system in which the present invention may be implemented is shown in Fig. 1. In one embodiment, a user computer system 102 is used to access the Internet and invoke the 3PCC API using a secure hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTPS) uniform resource locator (URL) 104 (secure sockets layer (SSL)). The URL 104 is used to pass authorization credentials, such as login information, along with at least two phone numbers, a "from" number and a "to" number. An example of a suitable URL is: https://secure.url.com/tpcc/makecall?username=aw&password=secret & from number=1732555111 l&tonumber=1732555,2222 This URL includes specification of the secure hyper-text transfer protocol (https:), the Internet address of web server 106 (secure.url.com), the action to be performed by web server 106 (makecall), the authorization credentials (username=aw&password=secret), the telephone number of the telephone from which 4 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 the call is to originate (fromnumber=17325551111) and the telephone number of the telephone to which the call is to be completed (tonumber=17325552222). The HTTP URL activates a secure web server 106, which authenticates the user and passes the information to a CallController system 108. Preferably, the information is passed from secure web server 106 to CallController 108 using a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) 110. The CallController 108 is a trusted peer of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) proxy server 114. SIP is a signaling protocol for Internet conferencing, telephony, presence, events notification and instant messaging. SIP provides the necessary protocol mechanisms so that end systems and proxy servers can provide services such as call completion, call forwarding, callee and calling "number" delivery, personal mobility, terminal-type negotiation and selection, terminal capability negotiation, caller and callee authentication, blind and supervised call transfer, invitations to multicast conferences. A goal for SIP was to provide a superset of the call processing functions and features present in the public switched telephone network (PSTN). As such, features that permit familiar telephone-like operations are present: dialing a number, causing a phone to ring, hearing ringback tones or a busy signal. Implementation and terminology are different; for example, SIP refers to a device being in an "alerting state" rather than a "ringing." In response to receiving the RPC 110 from secure web server 106, CallController 108 invokes a number of SIP methods 112 involving SIP proxy server 114. In response, SIP proxy server 114 invokes those SIP methods 116 to the appropriate target. In addition, SIP proxy server 114 monitors any calls that are initiated and completed, in order to handle the necessary billing functions. In particular, CallController 108 initiates a call from CallController 108 to the "from" number, using the SIP INVITE method. SIP proxy server 114 in turn invokes the SIP INVITE method 116 targeting the "from" telephone 118. The technique used 5 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 to invoke the SIP INVITE method depends upon the type of "from" telephone 118 involved. For example, if the "from" telephone 118 is an Internet Protocol (IP) telephone, the SP INVITE method 120B may be invoked directly on the "from" telephone 118, since the IP telephone is capable of performing the necessary functions in response to the invocation of the SIP INVITE method. Alternatively, if the "from" telephone 118 is a standard Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) telephone, then the SIP INVITE method is invoked using a PSTN gateway server 120A to initiate the call. In either case, a call to the "from" telephone 118 is initiated. When the "from" telephone 118 answers, CallController 108 initiates a call transfer to transfer the call to the "from" telephone 118 from the origin of the call, CallController 108, to the "to" telephone 122 number, using the SIP REFER method. This terminates the initial call between the CallController and the "from" telephone 118, and triggers the "from" telephone 118 to initiate a new call to the "to" telephone 122. This call is billed to the appropriate account. There are three possible numbers to which the call may be billed - the "from" number, the "to" number, or a third "billto" number. The number to which the call is billed must belong to a subscriber of the telephone service provider. Thus, if the "from" number belongs to the subscriber, the call is billed to the "from" number, if the "to" number belongs to the subscriber, the call is billed to the "to" number, if neither the "from" number nor the "to" number belong to the subscriber, a third number must be billed. This third number may be supplied in the URL 104 or it may be associated with the user name that was used to login. An example of a suitable URL including a "billto" number is: https://secure.url.com/tpcc/makecall?username=aw&password=secret& fromnumber=1732555111 l&tonumber=17325552222& bill to number=17325553333 Preferably, an additional HTTPS URL is exposed which allows an application to retrieve a list of phone numbers in a user's account. This URL passes authorization 6 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 credentials (login information) and returns the phone numbers associated with the account corresponding to that login information. This list can be presented to the user to select which number is to initiate the call (the "from" number), and/or to select which number is to be billed for the call (the "billto" number). Although, typically, user computer system 102 is used to initiate the telephone calls, calls may also be initiated from a third party telephone 124. Third party telephone 124 would dial into an interactive voice response (IVR) system 126 and would be used to enter the information needed to initiate the telephone call. IVR 126 would pass the information to Call Controller 108 using RPC 128. The system would then initiate the call in a manner similar to that for a call initiated from user computer system 102. The third party telephone configuration slightly changes the role of "from" telephone 118, as compared to the configuration involving only the "to" and "from" telephones. Both "to" telephone 122 and "from" telephone 118 become the "to" telephones. If the third party places a call to "from" telephone 118, SIP proxy server 114 invokes sip invite methods 116, as discussed above. However, if third party telephone 124 is trying to reach "to" telephone 122, the inventive system may have an alternative and additional communication link 500 adaptively operable in response to invoking methods similar to sip invite methods 116 by Proxy Server 114. As a further possibility, CALL CONTROLLER SERVER 108 can always directly call "to" telephone 122 using the link similar to communication link 500. One of possible scenarios involving such a direct connection may involve, a situation when the caller operating the "from" telephone does not want experience any delays due to the busy line. Instructing the controller server to initiate contact with the "to" telephone and, once the operator of the "to" telephone answers the call from the controller server, actually connecting the "from" and "to" telephones may save the operator of the "from" telephone time. 7 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 The configuration of the inventive system involving third party telephone 124 may have numerous practical ramifications and be used in a variety of ways. For instance, one potential use of this is similar to a "calling card". The subscriber could initiate a call from any telephone, such as their hotel room telephone or a pay telephone, to any other phone, while billing the call to their own account. Examples of users of the services provided by the present invention include business users who have a large phone book of users they need to call (e.g. sales calls), or by telemarketing operations. In this situation, the subscriber uses the "from" telephone and the calls are billed to the "from" number. For example, this could be implemented in phone or address book software, such as using a plug-in to an email program such as MICROSOFT OUTLOOK®, or in contact manager software. An example of such an implementation is shown in Fig. - 2. In this example, a contacts window 202 includes a plurality of contacts entries 204A-C. Each contact entry 204A-C includes a contact address 208A-C and a contact telephone number 210A-C. Associated with each contact telephone number 210A-C is a software control, which, when activated, causes the telephone number 210A-C to be dialed using the third party call control system shown in Fig. 1. The software control may take any form. For example, the software control may be a button or an active area associated with the telephone number 210A-C. Alternatively, the software control may be a hotkey, which may operate, for example, by a user selecting a telephone number and then pressing the hotkey. These are merely examples of suitable software controls; any software control with adequate functionality may be used. In order to dial the telephone number 210A-C using the third party call control system shown in Fig. 1, a URL, such as those shown above, is used. The telephone number 210A-C is included in the URL, typically as the "to" number. The "from" number would typically be the phone number of a phone available to the person initiating the call. The "billto" number may be omitted from the URL, in which case 8 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 the "from" number would typically be billed, or a third "billto" number may be included in the URL. Additional enhancement to this functionality include the capability to scan pages and documents for character strings that appear to be telephone numbers. These telephone numbers may be highlighted for the user. The user may then dial any such telephone number by selecting the number and pressing the hotkey or other software control. Preferably, the implementation includes sufficient intelligence to understand the formats of telephone numbers, including international telephone numbers, as well as the ability to filter the characters in the telephone number to strip characters such as parentheses, hyphens, etc. In another embodiment, subscribers are able to distribute software objects that provide the capability for the recipient of the object to call the subscriber. Typically, the software object is distributed using email, but it may be distributed by download or any form of electronic communications. An example of such a software object is shown in Fig. 3. In the example shown in Fig. 3, the software object is a virtual contact card or "vcard" 302. In this example, vcard 302 includes information such as a company name 304, the subscriber's name 306, the address 308, and instructions for initiating a call 310. In addition vcard 302 includes a field in which the recipient of the vcard is to enter their telephone number 312 and a software control 314, such as a button, that initiates the telephone call. The information provided, the company name 304, the subscriber's name 306, the address 308, and instructions for initiating a call 310, are merely examples and any desired information may be included in the vcard. Likewise, field 312 and software control 314 are merely examples of a software mechanism that may be used for operation of the vcard. Included in or associated with vcard 302 and/or software control 314 is software that initiates a telephone call between the subscriber and the recipient of the vcard. When the recipient enters a telephone number in field 312 and activates 9 WO 2006/101949 PCT7US2006/009450 software control 314, vcard 302 generates a URL and uses the URL to transmit information 316 to a vcard server 318. While the transmitted information 316 may include the identification and password information of the subscriber, preferably, transmitted information 316 does not include this information in an insecure form. For example, transmitted information 316 may include the identification and password information of the subscriber in an encrypted form, or transmitted information 316 may be a token that is used by vcard server 318 to obtain the identification and password information of the subscriber, such as by a database lookup. Vcard server 318 receives the transmitted information 316 and generates a URL that is used to transmit information 320 to secure web server 106. This URL is similar to that generated by user computer system 102, shown in Fig. 1, which is used to communicate with secure web server 106. If the transmitted information 316 is encrypted identification and password information of the subscriber, vcard server 318 decrypts the information and uses it to generate the URL. If the transmitted information 316 is a token, vcard server 318 validates the token, then uses the token to obtain the identification and password information of the subscriber, such as by using the token to access a database that contains the identification and password information of the subscriber. In any case, the URL is used to transmit information 320 to secure web server 106, which initiated the telephone call in a manner similar to that shown in Fig. 1. Typically, vcard 302 includes information such as the network address of vcard server 318, token and/or encryption information, and information identifying the sender of the vcard. Alternatively, vcard 302 could include a unique token that identifies the particular call setup to be initiated, but which does not itself include information that identifies the subscriber account involved. Of course, various modifications are possible, such as including the identification information, but not the password, etc. 10 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 In the example shown in Fig. 3, vcard 302 included field 312 in which the recipient of the vcard entered the telephone number to which the telephone call was to be completed. Alternatively, the sender of the vcard or other software object could specify a particular number to which the telephone call is to be completed. This would allow a subscriber to control the particular calls that can be made. For example, the subscriber could generate one software object that initiated a call from their grandmother's phone to the subscriber's phone, another software object that initiated a call from a friend's phone to the subscriber's phone, etc. This allows parties to initiate calls to the subscriber from their phone at any time, while billing the subscriber, the "to" number. In addition, the sender of software object may be allowed to specify conditions for use of the software object. For example, the sender may specify that the software object expires after a particular date, the sender may specify time of day restrictions on the calls, the sender may restrict international calls, and the like. If the transmitted information is encrypted, this information may be included in the encrypted information. If the transmitted information is a token, the database may include the appropriate conditional information. Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that there are other embodiments that are equivalent to the described embodiments. For example, the present invention may also be advantageously applied to three-way and/or multiple party conferencing. For three-way conferencing, the system shown in Fig. 1 would be used to initiate two calls to the same telephone. Typically, the first call would be completed to the telephone, the second call would be initiated, the telephone would receive a call waiting indication, and the second call would be conferenced in to the first. For multiple party conferencing, the system shown in Fig. 1 would be used to initiate multiple calls to a conference bridge, with all calls billed to the account of the conference organizer. 11 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 In addition, it is important to note that while the present invention has been described in the context of a fully functioning data processing system, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the processes of the present invention are capable of being distributed in the form of a computer readable medium of instructions and a variety of forms and that the present invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media actually used to carry out the distribution. Examples of computer readable media include recordable-type media such as floppy disc, a hard disk drive, RAM, and CD-ROM's, as well as transmission- type media, such as digital and analog communications links. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited by the aforesaid specific illustrated embodiments, but by the scope of the appended claims. 12 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A system for effecting a telephone call comprising: a first telephonic device; a second telephonic device; and uniform resource locator means operable over a computer network for effecting a telephone call between the first telephonic device and the second telephonic device. 2. The system of Claim 1, wherein the uniform resource locator means comprises means for identifying the first and second telephonic devices. 3. The system of Claim 1, wherein the computer network comprises the Internet. 4. The system of Claim 1 further comprising telephonic number identifying means for identifying the respective first and second telephonic devices. 5. The system of Claim 4, wherein at least one of said telephonic devices comprises a telephone. 6. The system of Claim 5, wherein said the at least one of said telephonic devices comprises an alphanumeric keypad. 7. The system of Claim 6, wherein said alphanumeric keypad is inoperable in said system. 8. The system of Claim 1, wherein said computer network comprises a web browser for placing the telephone call from the first telephonic device to the second telephonic device. 13 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 9. The system of Claim 1, wherein the uniform resource locator means comprises means to identifying the first telephonic device and means for identifying the second telephonic device. 10. The system of Claim 9 further comprising means for initiating a call to the first telephonic device, and means for transferring the initiated call from the first telephonic device to the second telephonic device when the call to first telephonic device is answered. 11. The system of Claim 10, wherein said first and second telephonic devices each comprise respective user operable manual telephone number identifying means, said system being operable without use of the respective user operable manual telephone number identifying means. 12. The system of Claim 11, wherein the user operable telephone number identifying means comprises key board means. 13. A method of telephone call completion comprising: (a) displaying contact information comprising information relating to a call that may be completed; (b) receiving an indication of a call to be completed; and ( c ) generating a uniform resource locator operable over the Internet to cause the call between a first telephonic device and a second telephonic device to be completed, the uniform resource locator comprises means for identifying the first telephonic device and the second telephonic device, at least one of the identification of the first telephone device and the identification of the second telephone device based on the contact information. 14 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 / 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the information relating to a call that may be completed comprises a telephone number. 15. The method of claim 13, wherein either the identification of the first telephonic device and the identification of the second telephonic device comprises a telephone number. 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the displayed contact information comprises information relating to a plurality of telephone calls. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the received indication of the call to be completed comprises information relating to at least one of the plurality of calls that may be completed, and being selected from the displayed contact information. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the information relating to the plurality of calls that may be completed comprises a plurality of telephone numbers. 19. The method of claim 13, wherein the received indication of the call to be completed comprises at least one telephone number selected from among a plurality of telephone numbers. 20. The method of claim 17, wherein at least one of the identification of the first telephonic device and the identification of the second telephonic device comprises the at least one telephone number selected from among the plurality of telephone numbers. 15 WO 2006/101949 PCT7US2006/009450 21. The method of claim 13, wherein the contact information is displayed in one selected from the group consisting of phone book software, address book software, email software, contact manager software, a plug in to phone book software, a plug in address book software, email software, and contact manager software and combinations thereof. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the displayed contact information comprises information relating to a plurality of calls that may be completed. 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the received indication of the call to be completed comprises information relating to at least one of the plurality of calls that may be completed, selected from the displayed contact information. 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the information relating to a plurality of calls that may be completed comprises a plurality of telephone numbers. 25. The method of claim 13, wherein the received indication of the call to be completed comprises at least one telephone number selected from among the plurality of telephone numbers. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the at least one telephone number selected from among the plurality of telephone numbers includes an identification of the first telephonic device or the identification of the second telephonic device. 27. A computer program product for call completion comprising: (i) a computer readable medium; and 16 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 (ii) computer program instructions, said computer program instructions being recorded on the computer readable medium, and being executable by a processor, for performing the steps of: (a) displaying contact information comprising information relating to a call that may be completed; (b) receiving an indication of the call to be completed; and (c) generating a uniform resource locator operable over the Internet to cause a call between a first telephonic device and a second telephonic device to be completed, the uniform resource locator comprises means for identifying the first telephonic device and the second telephonic device, at least one of the identification of the first telephonic device and the identification of the second telephonic device being based on the information relating to the call to be completed. 28. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the information relating to a call that may be completed comprises a telephone number. 29. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein either the identification of the first telephonic device and the identification of the second telephonic device comprises the telephone number. 30. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the displayed contact information comprises information relating to a plurality of calls that may be completed. 31. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the received indication of a call to be completed comprises information relating to at least one of the plurality of calls that may be completed, selected from the displayed contact information. 17 WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450 32. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the information relating to the plurality of calls that may be completed comprises a plurality of telephone numbers. 33. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the received indication of the call to be completed comprises at least one telephone number selected from among the plurality of telephone numbers. 34. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein at least one telephone number comprises an identification of at least one of the first and second telephone numbers. 35. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the contact information is displayed in one selected from; phone book software, address book software, email software, contact manager software, a plug-in to phone book software, plug-in to an address book software, email software, and contact manager software. 36. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein the displayed contact information comprises information relating to a plurality of calls that may be completed. 37. The computer program product of claim 36, wherein the received indication of a call to be completed comprises information relating to at least one of the plurality of calls that may be completed, selected from the displayed contact information. 18 A system for effecting a telephone call between telephonic devices is operative to use a computer network, without manual use of the alphanumeric keypads. A third party call control (3PCC) application program interface (API) provides the capability for users to use a web browser or other Internet capable software to place a call, rather than using the telephone keypad. A third party call control application program interface includes a uniform resource locator operable over the Internet to cause a call between a first telephonic device and a second telephonic device to be completed. The uniform resource locator includes identification of the first telephonic device and identification of the second telephonic device.

Full Text

WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450
A SYSTEM FOR EFFECTING A TELEPHONE CALL OVER A COMPUTER
NETWORK WITHOUT ALPHANUMERIC KEYPAD OPERATION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for effecting a telephone call
between telephonic devices. The present invention also relates to novel uses of a web
browser and Internet capable software.
2. Description of the Related Art
Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a category of hardware and software
that enables the user to use a computer network such as the Internet as the
transmission medium for telephone calls by sending voice data in packets using
Internet Protocol (IP) rather than by traditional circuit transmissions of the Public
Switch Telephone Network (PSTN). This eliminates circuit switching and the
associated waste of bandwidth. Instead, packet switching is used, wherein IP packets
with voice data are sent over the network only when data needs to be sent, i.e. when a
party to the call is speaking.
The advantages of VoIP over traditional telephony include, by way example,
lower costs per call, especially for long-distance calls, and lower infrastructure costs.
That is, once the IP infrastructure is installed, no or little additional telephony
infrastructure is required.
However, despite the technological flexibility of a VoIP system, callers are
still limited to initiating calls manually, that is by using the keypad on a telephone.
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WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450
there is an art desired need to greatly reduce or eliminate the user's manual activities
in initiating a telephone call, including the telephone keypad operation.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a system
for effecting a telephone call between telephonic devices using a computer network
without manual use of the telephonic device keypads.
The third party call control (3PCC) application program interface (API) of the
present invention provides the capability for users to use a web browser or other
Internet capable software to place a call. This eliminates using the telephone keypad.
The open, nature of the API also provides the capability to integrate 3PCC
functionality with new or existing applications, such as customer relationship
management (CRM), contact management applications, and the like.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a third party call control
application program interface includes a first uniform resource locator operable over
the Internet to cause a call or connection between a first telephonic device and a
second telephonic device to be completed. The first uniform resource locator
includes identification of the first telephonic device and identification of the second
telephonic device.
In one aspect of the present invention, the first uniform resource locator may
be generated on a computer system that is communicatively connected to the Internet.
The call may be completed by initiating a call to the first telephone device and
transferring the call, so as to complete the call, to the second telephone device, when
the call to the first telephone device is answered. The call may be initiated to the first
telephone device using the Session Initiation Protocol INVITE method. The call may
be transferred to the second telephone device using the Session Initiation Protocol
REFER method.
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In one aspect of the present invention, the identification of the first telephonic
device may include identification of a telephone number of the first telephone device
and the identification of the second telephonic device may include a telephone
number of the second telephonic device. The telephonic devices may be conventional
telephones. However, the present invention contemplates any present or fixture
telephonic device. The third party call control application program may further
include identification of an account to be billed. The identification of the first
telephonic device includes a telephone number of the first telephone device and the
identification of the second telephonic device includes a telephone number of the
second telephonic device. The identification of the account to be billed may include
the telephone number of the first telephonic device, the telephone number of the
second telephonic device, or the telephone number of a third telephonic device.
In one further aspect of the present invention, the third party call control
application program may further include a second uniform resource locator operable
over the Internet to obtain information identifying an account to be billed. The
information identifying an account to be billed may also include at least one
telephone number. At least one of the first uniform resource locator identification of
the first telephone device and the first uniform resource locator identification of the
second telephone device may include at least one telephone number obtained by the
second uniform resource locator.
In a still further aspect of the present invention, the third party call control
application program includes identification and password information; such
information is authenticated and validated before the call is completed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is an exemplary block diagram of the system in which the present
invention may be implemented;
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Fig. 2 is an exemplary diagram of an implementation of a contact list interface
to functionality of the present invention; and
Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a vcard implementing functionality of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The third party call control (3PCC) application program interface (API) of the
present invention provides the capability for users to use a web browser or other
Internet capable software to place a call. This eliminates using a keypad such as the
alpha/numeric keypad on a conventional telephone. The open nature of the API also
provides the capability to integrate 3PCC functionality with new or existing,
applications like customer relationship management (CRM), contact management
applications, and the like.
A system in which the present invention may be implemented is shown in Fig.
1. In one embodiment, a user computer system 102 is used to access the Internet and
invoke the 3PCC API using a secure hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTPS) uniform
resource locator (URL) 104 (secure sockets layer (SSL)). The URL 104 is used to
pass authorization credentials, such as login information, along with at least two
phone numbers, a "from" number and a "to" number. An example of a suitable URL
is:
https://secure.url.com/tpcc/makecall?username=aw&password=secret
&
from number=1732555111 l&tonumber=1732555,2222
This URL includes specification of the secure hyper-text transfer protocol
(https:), the Internet address of web server 106 (secure.url.com), the action to be
performed by web server 106 (makecall), the authorization credentials
(username=aw&password=secret), the telephone number of the telephone from which
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the call is to originate (fromnumber=17325551111) and the telephone number of the
telephone to which the call is to be completed (tonumber=17325552222).
The HTTP URL activates a secure web server 106, which authenticates the
user and passes the information to a CallController system 108. Preferably, the
information is passed from secure web server 106 to CallController 108 using a
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) 110. The CallController 108 is a trusted peer of
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) proxy server 114.
SIP is a signaling protocol for Internet conferencing, telephony, presence,
events notification and instant messaging. SIP provides the necessary protocol
mechanisms so that end systems and proxy servers can provide services such as call
completion, call forwarding, callee and calling "number" delivery, personal
mobility, terminal-type negotiation and selection, terminal capability negotiation,
caller and callee authentication, blind and supervised call transfer, invitations to
multicast conferences.
A goal for SIP was to provide a superset of the call processing functions and
features present in the public switched telephone network (PSTN). As such, features
that permit familiar telephone-like operations are present: dialing a number, causing a
phone to ring, hearing ringback tones or a busy signal. Implementation and
terminology are different; for example, SIP refers to a device being in an "alerting
state" rather than a "ringing."
In response to receiving the RPC 110 from secure web server 106,
CallController 108 invokes a number of SIP methods 112 involving SIP proxy server
114. In response, SIP proxy server 114 invokes those SIP methods 116 to the
appropriate target. In addition, SIP proxy server 114 monitors any calls that are
initiated and completed, in order to handle the necessary billing functions.
In particular, CallController 108 initiates a call from CallController 108 to the
"from" number, using the SIP INVITE method. SIP proxy server 114 in turn invokes
the SIP INVITE method 116 targeting the "from" telephone 118. The technique used
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to invoke the SIP INVITE method depends upon the type of "from" telephone 118
involved. For example, if the "from" telephone 118 is an Internet Protocol (IP)
telephone, the SP INVITE method 120B may be invoked directly on the "from"
telephone 118, since the IP telephone is capable of performing the necessary
functions in response to the invocation of the SIP INVITE method. Alternatively, if
the "from" telephone 118 is a standard Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
telephone, then the SIP INVITE method is invoked using a PSTN gateway server
120A to initiate the call. In either case, a call to the "from" telephone 118 is initiated.
When the "from" telephone 118 answers, CallController 108 initiates a call
transfer to transfer the call to the "from" telephone 118 from the origin of the call,
CallController 108, to the "to" telephone 122 number, using the SIP REFER method.
This terminates the initial call between the CallController and the "from" telephone
118, and triggers the "from" telephone 118 to initiate a new call to the "to" telephone
122. This call is billed to the appropriate account.
There are three possible numbers to which the call may be billed - the "from"
number, the "to" number, or a third "billto" number. The number to which the call is
billed must belong to a subscriber of the telephone service provider. Thus, if the
"from" number belongs to the subscriber, the call is billed to the "from" number, if
the "to" number belongs to the subscriber, the call is billed to the "to" number, if
neither the "from" number nor the "to" number belong to the subscriber, a third
number must be billed. This third number may be supplied in the URL 104 or it may
be associated with the user name that was used to login. An example of a suitable
URL including a "billto" number is:
https://secure.url.com/tpcc/makecall?username=aw&password=secret&
fromnumber=1732555111 l&tonumber=17325552222&
bill to number=17325553333
Preferably, an additional HTTPS URL is exposed which allows an application
to retrieve a list of phone numbers in a user's account. This URL passes authorization
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credentials (login information) and returns the phone numbers associated with the
account corresponding to that login information. This list can be presented to the user
to select which number is to initiate the call (the "from" number), and/or to select
which number is to be billed for the call (the "billto" number).
Although, typically, user computer system 102 is used to initiate the telephone
calls, calls may also be initiated from a third party telephone 124. Third party
telephone 124 would dial into an interactive voice response (IVR) system 126 and
would be used to enter the information needed to initiate the telephone call. IVR 126
would pass the information to Call Controller 108 using RPC 128. The system would
then initiate the call in a manner similar to that for a call initiated from user computer
system 102.
The third party telephone configuration slightly changes the role of "from"
telephone 118, as compared to the configuration involving only the "to" and "from"
telephones. Both "to" telephone 122 and "from" telephone 118 become the "to"
telephones. If the third party places a call to "from" telephone 118, SIP proxy server
114 invokes sip invite methods 116, as discussed above. However, if third party
telephone 124 is trying to reach "to" telephone 122, the inventive system may have
an alternative and additional communication link 500 adaptively operable in response
to invoking methods similar to sip invite methods 116 by Proxy Server 114.
As a further possibility, CALL CONTROLLER SERVER 108 can always
directly call "to" telephone 122 using the link similar to communication link 500.
One of possible scenarios involving such a direct connection may involve, a situation
when the caller operating the "from" telephone does not want experience any delays
due to the busy line. Instructing the controller server to initiate contact with the "to"
telephone and, once the operator of the "to" telephone answers the call from the
controller server, actually connecting the "from" and "to" telephones may save the
operator of the "from" telephone time.
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The configuration of the inventive system involving third party telephone 124
may have numerous practical ramifications and be used in a variety of ways. For
instance, one potential use of this is similar to a "calling card". The subscriber could
initiate a call from any telephone, such as their hotel room telephone or a pay
telephone, to any other phone, while billing the call to their own account.
Examples of users of the services provided by the present invention include
business users who have a large phone book of users they need to call (e.g. sales
calls), or by telemarketing operations. In this situation, the subscriber uses the "from"
telephone and the calls are billed to the "from" number.
For example, this could be implemented in phone or address book software,
such as using a plug-in to an email program such as MICROSOFT OUTLOOK®, or
in contact manager software. An example of such an implementation is shown in Fig. -
2. In this example, a contacts window 202 includes a plurality of contacts entries
204A-C. Each contact entry 204A-C includes a contact address 208A-C and a
contact telephone number 210A-C. Associated with each contact telephone number
210A-C is a software control, which, when activated, causes the telephone number
210A-C to be dialed using the third party call control system shown in Fig. 1. The
software control may take any form. For example, the software control may be a
button or an active area associated with the telephone number 210A-C. Alternatively,
the software control may be a hotkey, which may operate, for example, by a user
selecting a telephone number and then pressing the hotkey. These are merely
examples of suitable software controls; any software control with adequate
functionality may be used.
In order to dial the telephone number 210A-C using the third party call control
system shown in Fig. 1, a URL, such as those shown above, is used. The telephone
number 210A-C is included in the URL, typically as the "to" number. The "from"
number would typically be the phone number of a phone available to the person
initiating the call. The "billto" number may be omitted from the URL, in which case
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WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450
the "from" number would typically be billed, or a third "billto" number may be
included in the URL.
Additional enhancement to this functionality include the capability to scan
pages and documents for character strings that appear to be telephone numbers.
These telephone numbers may be highlighted for the user. The user may then dial
any such telephone number by selecting the number and pressing the hotkey or other
software control.
Preferably, the implementation includes sufficient intelligence to understand
the formats of telephone numbers, including international telephone numbers, as well
as the ability to filter the characters in the telephone number to strip characters such
as parentheses, hyphens, etc.
In another embodiment, subscribers are able to distribute software objects that
provide the capability for the recipient of the object to call the subscriber. Typically,
the software object is distributed using email, but it may be distributed by download
or any form of electronic communications. An example of such a software object is
shown in Fig. 3. In the example shown in Fig. 3, the software object is a virtual
contact card or "vcard" 302. In this example, vcard 302 includes information such as
a company name 304, the subscriber's name 306, the address 308, and instructions for
initiating a call 310. In addition vcard 302 includes a field in which the recipient of
the vcard is to enter their telephone number 312 and a software control 314, such as a
button, that initiates the telephone call. The information provided, the company name
304, the subscriber's name 306, the address 308, and instructions for initiating a call
310, are merely examples and any desired information may be included in the vcard.
Likewise, field 312 and software control 314 are merely examples of a software
mechanism that may be used for operation of the vcard.
Included in or associated with vcard 302 and/or software control 314 is
software that initiates a telephone call between the subscriber and the recipient of the
vcard. When the recipient enters a telephone number in field 312 and activates
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WO 2006/101949 PCT7US2006/009450
software control 314, vcard 302 generates a URL and uses the URL to transmit
information 316 to a vcard server 318. While the transmitted information 316 may
include the identification and password information of the subscriber, preferably,
transmitted information 316 does not include this information in an insecure form.
For example, transmitted information 316 may include the identification and
password information of the subscriber in an encrypted form, or transmitted
information 316 may be a token that is used by vcard server 318 to obtain the
identification and password information of the subscriber, such as by a database
lookup.
Vcard server 318 receives the transmitted information 316 and generates a
URL that is used to transmit information 320 to secure web server 106. This URL is
similar to that generated by user computer system 102, shown in Fig. 1, which is used
to communicate with secure web server 106. If the transmitted information 316 is
encrypted identification and password information of the subscriber, vcard server
318 decrypts the information and uses it to generate the URL. If the transmitted
information 316 is a token, vcard server 318 validates the token, then uses the token
to obtain the identification and password information of the subscriber, such as by
using the token to access a database that contains the identification and password
information of the subscriber. In any case, the URL is used to transmit information
320 to secure web server 106, which initiated the telephone call in a manner similar to
that shown in Fig. 1.
Typically, vcard 302 includes information such as the network address of
vcard server 318, token and/or encryption information, and information identifying
the sender of the vcard. Alternatively, vcard 302 could include a unique token that
identifies the particular call setup to be initiated, but which does not itself include
information that identifies the subscriber account involved. Of course, various
modifications are possible, such as including the identification information, but not
the password, etc.
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In the example shown in Fig. 3, vcard 302 included field 312 in which the
recipient of the vcard entered the telephone number to which the telephone call was to
be completed. Alternatively, the sender of the vcard or other software object could
specify a particular number to which the telephone call is to be completed. This
would allow a subscriber to control the particular calls that can be made. For
example, the subscriber could generate one software object that initiated a call from
their grandmother's phone to the subscriber's phone, another software object that
initiated a call from a friend's phone to the subscriber's phone, etc. This allows
parties to initiate calls to the subscriber from their phone at any time, while billing the
subscriber, the "to" number.
In addition, the sender of software object may be allowed to specify
conditions for use of the software object. For example, the sender may specify that
the software object expires after a particular date, the sender may specify time of day
restrictions on the calls, the sender may restrict international calls, and the like. If the
transmitted information is encrypted, this information may be included in the
encrypted information. If the transmitted information is a token, the database may
include the appropriate conditional information.
Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described,
it will be understood by those of skill in the art that there are other embodiments that
are equivalent to the described embodiments. For example, the present invention may
also be advantageously applied to three-way and/or multiple party conferencing. For
three-way conferencing, the system shown in Fig. 1 would be used to initiate two
calls to the same telephone. Typically, the first call would be completed to the
telephone, the second call would be initiated, the telephone would receive a call
waiting indication, and the second call would be conferenced in to the first. For
multiple party conferencing, the system shown in Fig. 1 would be used to initiate
multiple calls to a conference bridge, with all calls billed to the account of the
conference organizer.
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In addition, it is important to note that while the present invention has been
described in the context of a fully functioning data processing system, those of
ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the processes of the present invention are
capable of being distributed in the form of a computer readable medium of
instructions and a variety of forms and that the present invention applies equally
regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media actually used to carry out the
distribution. Examples of computer readable media include recordable-type media
such as floppy disc, a hard disk drive, RAM, and CD-ROM's, as well as transmission-
type media, such as digital and analog communications links.
Accordingly, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited by
the aforesaid specific illustrated embodiments, but by the scope of the appended
claims.
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WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A system for effecting a telephone call comprising:
a first telephonic device;
a second telephonic device; and
uniform resource locator means operable over a computer network for effecting
a telephone call between the first telephonic device and the second telephonic device.
2. The system of Claim 1, wherein the uniform resource locator means comprises
means for identifying the first and second telephonic devices.
3. The system of Claim 1, wherein the computer network comprises the Internet.
4. The system of Claim 1 further comprising telephonic number identifying means
for identifying the respective first and second telephonic devices.
5. The system of Claim 4, wherein at least one of said telephonic devices comprises
a telephone.
6. The system of Claim 5, wherein said the at least one of said telephonic devices
comprises an alphanumeric keypad.
7. The system of Claim 6, wherein said alphanumeric keypad is inoperable in said
system.
8. The system of Claim 1, wherein said computer network comprises a web
browser for placing the telephone call from the first telephonic device to the second
telephonic device.
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WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450
9. The system of Claim 1, wherein the uniform resource locator means comprises
means to identifying the first telephonic device and means for identifying the second
telephonic device.
10. The system of Claim 9 further comprising means for initiating a call to the first
telephonic device, and means for transferring the initiated call from the first telephonic
device to the second telephonic device when the call to first telephonic device is
answered.
11. The system of Claim 10, wherein said first and second telephonic devices each
comprise respective user operable manual telephone number identifying means, said
system being operable without use of the respective user operable manual telephone
number identifying means.
12. The system of Claim 11, wherein the user operable telephone number
identifying means comprises key board means.
13. A method of telephone call completion comprising:

(a) displaying contact information comprising information relating to a call that
may be completed;
(b) receiving an indication of a call to be completed; and
( c ) generating a uniform resource locator operable over the Internet to cause the
call between a first telephonic device and a second telephonic device to be completed,
the uniform resource locator comprises means for identifying the first telephonic device
and the second telephonic device, at least one of the identification of the first telephone
device and the identification of the second telephone device based on the contact
information.
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/
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the information relating to a call that
may be completed comprises a telephone number.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein either the identification of the first
telephonic device and the identification of the second telephonic device comprises a
telephone number.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the displayed contact information
comprises information relating to a plurality of telephone calls.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the received indication of the call to be
completed comprises information relating to at least one of the plurality of calls that may
be completed, and being selected from the displayed contact information.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the information relating to the plurality
of calls that may be completed comprises a plurality of telephone numbers.
19. The method of claim 13, wherein the received indication of the call to be
completed comprises at least one telephone number selected from among a plurality of
telephone numbers.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein at least one of the identification of the
first telephonic device and the identification of the second telephonic device comprises
the at least one telephone number selected from among the plurality of telephone
numbers.
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21. The method of claim 13, wherein the contact information is displayed in
one selected from the group consisting of phone book software, address book software,
email software, contact manager software, a plug in to phone book software, a plug in
address book software, email software, and contact manager software and
combinations thereof.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the displayed contact information
comprises information relating to a plurality of calls that may be completed.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the received indication of the call to be
completed comprises information relating to at least one of the plurality of calls that may
be completed, selected from the displayed contact information.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the information relating to a plurality
of calls that may be completed comprises a plurality of telephone numbers.
25. The method of claim 13, wherein the received indication of the call to be
completed comprises at least one telephone number selected from among the plurality of
telephone numbers.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the at least one telephone number
selected from among the plurality of telephone numbers includes an identification of the
first telephonic device or the identification of the second telephonic device.
27. A computer program product for call completion comprising:
(i) a computer readable medium; and
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WO 2006/101949 PCT/US2006/009450
(ii) computer program instructions, said computer program instructions being
recorded on the computer readable medium, and being executable by a processor, for
performing the steps of:
(a) displaying contact information comprising information relating to a call that
may be completed;
(b) receiving an indication of the call to be completed; and
(c) generating a uniform resource locator operable over the Internet to cause a
call between a first telephonic device and a second telephonic device to be completed,
the uniform resource locator comprises means for identifying the first telephonic device
and the second telephonic device, at least one of the identification of the first telephonic
device and the identification of the second telephonic device being based on the
information relating to the call to be completed.

28. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the information relating to
a call that may be completed comprises a telephone number.
29. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein either the identification of
the first telephonic device and the identification of the second telephonic device
comprises the telephone number.
30. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the displayed contact
information comprises information relating to a plurality of calls that may be completed.
31. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the received indication of a
call to be completed comprises information relating to at least one of the plurality of
calls that may be completed, selected from the displayed contact information.
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32. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the information relating to
the plurality of calls that may be completed comprises a plurality of telephone numbers.
33. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the received indication of
the call to be completed comprises at least one telephone number selected from among
the plurality of telephone numbers.
34. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein at least one telephone
number comprises an identification of at least one of the first and second telephone
numbers.
35. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the contact information is
displayed in one selected from; phone book software, address book software, email
software, contact manager software, a plug-in to phone book software, plug-in to an
address book software, email software, and contact manager software.
36. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein the displayed contact
information comprises information relating to a plurality of calls that may be completed.
37. The computer program product of claim 36, wherein the received indication of a
call to be completed comprises information relating to at least one of the plurality of
calls that may be completed, selected from the displayed contact information.
18

A system for effecting a telephone call between telephonic devices is operative to use a computer network, without
manual use of the alphanumeric keypads. A third party call control (3PCC) application program interface (API) provides the capability for users to use a web browser or other Internet capable software to place a call, rather than using the telephone keypad. A third
party call control application program interface includes a uniform resource locator operable over the Internet to cause a call between
a first telephonic device and a second telephonic device to be completed. The uniform resource locator includes identification of the
first telephonic device and identification of the second telephonic device.

Documents:

http://ipindiaonline.gov.in/patentsearch/GrantedSearch/viewdoc.aspx?id=+tx8iMbfYI6Lm7ZHvlzYbw==&loc=wDBSZCsAt7zoiVrqcFJsRw==

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Patent Number

271759

Indian Patent Application Number

3500/KOLNP/2007

PG Journal Number

10/2016

Publication Date

04-Mar-2016

Grant Date

02-Mar-2016

Date of Filing

18-Sep-2007

Name of Patentee

VONAGE NETWORKS LLC

Applicant Address

23 MAIN STREET, HOLMDEL, NEW JERSEY

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	WASON ANDREW	6 VICTORIAN WOODS DRIVE,, ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, NEW JERSEY 07716
2	CITRON JEFFREY	23 MAIN STREET,, HOLMDEL, NEW JERSEY 07733
3	SHAH NILESH	1715 NORTH UMBERLAND WAY, MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NEW JERSEY 08852

PCT International Classification Number

H04M 11/00

PCT International Application Number

PCT/US2006/009450

PCT International Filing date

2006-03-16

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1	11/081174	2005-03-16	U.S.A.