U.S. patent application number 14/046034 was filed with the patent office on 2015-04-09 for redirecting telephone call to packet-switched data call via voicemail.
This patent application is currently assigned to Tel-Tech Systems, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Tel-Tech Systems, Inc.. Invention is credited to Meir Cohen, Eli Finkelman, Bryan Moyles.
Application Number | 20150098464 14/046034 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52776913 |
Filed Date | 2015-04-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150098464 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cohen; Meir ; et
al. |
April 9, 2015 |
Redirecting Telephone Call to Packet-Switched Data Call Via
Voicemail
Abstract
In embodiments of the disclosed technology, devices and methods
for redirecting a telephone call from a public-switched telephone
to a packet-switched data network. The phone call is initially
received via the public-switched telephone network having a dialed
number associated with a hand-held wireless device of a called
party. Upon initialization of the phone call, a route is determined
from the telecommunications switch to the hand-held wireless device
of the called party via a packet-switched network. The bandwidth of
the packet-switched network is then detected to determine the
ability of the network to handle the call. If the packet-switched
network is determined to be capable of handling the call, the call
is forwarded over the packet-switched data, thereby reducing or
eliminating charges for wireless minutes.
Inventors: |
Cohen; Meir; (South Amboy,
NJ) ; Finkelman; Eli; (South Amboy, NJ) ;
Moyles; Bryan; (South Amboy, NJ) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Tel-Tech Systems, Inc. |
South Amboy |
NJ |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Tel-Tech Systems, Inc.
South Amboy
NJ
|
Family ID: |
52776913 |
Appl. No.: |
14/046034 |
Filed: |
October 4, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
370/355 ;
370/356 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 76/19 20180201;
H04L 65/1069 20130101; H04W 48/06 20130101; H04M 15/8083 20130101;
H04W 76/14 20180201; H04M 15/56 20130101; H04M 15/43 20130101; H04M
15/41 20130101; H04L 45/22 20130101; H04W 88/06 20130101; H04M
15/60 20130101; H04M 3/42289 20130101; H04W 48/18 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
370/355 ;
370/356 |
International
Class: |
H04M 3/42 20060101
H04M003/42; H04L 12/707 20060101 H04L012/707 |
Claims
1. A telecommunications switch, with: a connection to a
packet-switched network; a connection to the public-switched
telephone network via which a phone call is received, said phone
call having a dialed number associated with a hand-held wireless
device of a called party; a processor instructed to determine a
route from said telecommunications switch to said hand-held
wireless device of said called party via said packet-switched
network and where said route is found, to determine bandwidth of
said packet-switched network; a processor instructed to send said
call to said hand-held wireless device associated with said called
party via one of: said packet-switched network when said determined
bandwidth is sufficient to handle said phone call; or said
public-switched telephone network when said determined bandwidth is
insufficient to handle said phone call.
2. The telecommunications switch of claim 1, wherein said dialed
number is determined based on a diversion header associated with
said phone call.
3. The telecommunications switch of claim 1, wherein said phone
call was initially received at said hand-held wireless device
associated with said called party and forwarded to said
telecommunications switch.
4. The telecommunications switch of claim 1, wherein said processor
carries out instructions to forward said phone call to a non-inward
WATS telephone number before said step of sending, and determines
ANI (automated number identification) information associated with
said phone call and provides said ANI information to said hand-held
wireless device.
5. The telecommunications switch of claim 1, wherein said phone
call is sent via said packet-switched network; and said
telecommunications switch reroutes said call to said
public-switched telephone network upon a pre-determined threshold
number of dropped packets.
6. The telecommunications switch of claim 5, wherein after said
telecommunications switch reroutes said to call to said
public-switched telephone network, during said phone call said
telecommunications switch performs another re-routing back to said
packet-switched network upon detection of a pre-determined DTMF key
sequence being entered.
7. The telecommunications switch of claim 1, wherein said
telecommunications switch sends said call to said public-switched
telephone network and during said call via said packet-switched
network, said telecommunications switch receives instructions to
reroute said call via said packet-switched network; and said
processor of said telecommunications switch determines that said
instruction to transfer said phone call to said packet-switched
network originated from said hand-held wireless device where said
call is currently terminating.
8. The telecommunications switch of claim 1, wherein said
determining bandwidth is based on a data network type reported via
said packet-switched network from said hand-held wireless
device.
9. The telecommunications switch of claim 8, wherein said sending
to said public-switched telephone network is carried out in all
cases when said data network type is known to be unable to support
said call on said packet-switched network.
10. The telecommunications switch of claim 1, further comprising a
billing mechanism, said billing mechanism instructed to levy a fee
on an account associated with said called party, said fee
determined based on units of time said phone call is carried on
said packet-switched network and units of time said phone call is
carried on said public-switched telephone network, wherein said fee
per unit time is higher when said phone call is carried on said
public-switched telephone network.
11. The telecommunications switch of claim 10, wherein said called
party is charged for part of the duration of said phone call, said
part of said duration of said phone call corresponding to an amount
of time said call was active over said public-switched telephone
network.
12. A method of switching telecommunications networks, comprising:
receiving a phone call via the public-switched telephone network,
said phone call having a dialed number associated with a hand-held
wireless device of a called party; determining if, in addition to a
network path via said public-switched telephone network, said
hand-held wireless device of said called party has an active and
authenticated data connection via a packet-switched network with a
telecommunications switch; determining that sufficient bandwidth
exists over said packet-switched network for said phone call;
sending said phone call to said hand-held wireless device
associated with said called party via said authenticated data
connection; and where an insufficient bandwidth condition arises
over said packet-switched network, connecting said phone call via
said public-switched telephone network.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said call is first sent to said
handheld wireless device via said PSTN; and after receiving a
command from said wireless device said call is sent via said
packet-switched network
14. The method of claim 12, wherein said call is received at said
telecommunications switch after having been initially received via
said public-switched telephone network and forwarded from said
called party.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein said call is carried out via
said telecommunications switch.
16. The method of claim 12 wherein said phone call is received at
said telecommunications switch after having been initially received
from said wireless device and automatically forwarded to said
telecommunications switch.
17. The method of claim 15 wherein said call is automatically
forwarded to said telecommunications switch.
18. The method of claim 16 wherein said call is sent to said
hand-held wireless device via said packet-switched network.
19. The method of claim 12 further comprising receiving an
indication from said hand-held wireless device to reconnect said
call via the public-switched telephone network.
20. The method of claim 12, wherein said call is transferable to
said packet-switched network by a prompt on said hand-held wireless
device.
21. The method of claim 15 wherein said phone call was forwarded
over the public-switched telephone network.
22. The method of claim 15 wherein said phone call was forwarded
via said packet-switched data network.
23. The method of claim 12, charging a fee for only a portion of
minutes of said phone call, wherein said portion consists of
minutes during which said call continues on said public-switched
telephone network.
24. The method of claim 12, further comprising: determining network
conditions of said packet-switched network before said step of
attempting to send said phone call via said packet-switched
network; and at a first connecting of said call to said called
party, connecting said call via said public-switched telephone
network based on insufficient network conditions for said call.
25. The method of claim 12, further comprising transferring said
phone call, to said packet-switched network upon detection of a
pre-determined DTMF key sequence being entered.
26. The method of claim 12, wherein said phone call is sent via
said packet-switched network; and during said call, said call is
transferred to said public-switched telephone network upon a
pre-determined threshold number of packets being dropped.
27. The method of claim 12, wherein said phone call is forwarded to
a non-inward WATS telephone number before said step of sending, and
ANI (automated number identification) information is sent to said
hand-held wireless device in the form of caller identification
(caller ID) information.
Description
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSED TECHNOLOGY
[0001] The disclosed technology relates generally to telephone
switches and, more specifically, to customized call routing.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSED TECHNOLOGY
[0002] Mobile phone technology has improved drastically to give
Internet access to a greater number of users. Many users are
afforded unlimited data usage by way of their mobile providers.
However, those same users may be restricted as to the number of
minutes they are allocated in a given month. In many instances,
unlimited data carries a flat monthly rate, while voice calling is
tolled on a minute-by-minute basis.
[0003] Further, users traveling internationally may incur
significant roaming charges for voice calling. However, these users
may have access via Wi-Fi to the Internet. Presently, online
services exist through which a user may communicate using voice
calling. However, none of these services allow a user to use his or
her original number. Moreover, none of these services allow a
regular incoming call to be transferred from the public-switched
telephone network over to a packet-switch data network, and vice
versa.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSED TECHNOLOGY
[0004] In one embodiment of the disclosed technology, a
telecommunications switch is disclosed. Such a telecommunications
switch or switch is defined as a device which, at least, receives
and routes telephone calls. The telecommunications switch, in
embodiments, has a connection, such as direct or wireless-based
electrical connection to a packet-switched network and a connection
to the public switched telephone network. The public switch
telephone network (herein "PSTN") is a publicly accessible
circuit-switched telephone network which allows telephones in the
world to communicate with other telephones. A phone call is
received via the PSTN at a hand-held wireless device of a called
party. A processor or other non-transitory medium (herein, used
interchangeably) is instructed to determine a route from the
telecommunications switch to the hand-held wireless device of the
called party via the packet-switched network. When the route is
found, the bandwidth of said packet-switched network is determined.
A processor is instructed to select to send the call to the
hand-held wireless device associated with the called party via one
of the networks. The call is sent via the packet-switched network
when the determined bandwidth is sufficient to handle the phone
call. The call is sent via the public-switched telephone network
when the determined bandwidth is insufficient to handle the phone
call.
[0005] The dialed number may be determined based on a diversion
header associated with the phone call. A diversion header carries
information about the redirection of a call. The phone call may be
initially received by the hand-held wireless device associated with
the called party and forwarded to the telecommunications switch,
such as through existing protocols known, including call forwarding
and/or forwarding to voicemail, with the voicemail number being
associated with the communications switch. In further embodiments,
the processor carries out instructions to forward the phone call to
a non-inward WATS telephone number before the step of sending.
Then, ANI (automated number identification) information associated
with said phone call is determined and provided to the hand-held
wireless device.
[0006] In further embodiments, the phone call is sent via the
packet-switched network and the phone call is rerouted to the PSTN
upon a pre-determined threshold number of packets being dropped.
After the telecommunications switch reroutes the call to the PSTN,
the telecommunications switch performs another re-routing back to
the packet-switched network upon detection of a pre-determined DTMF
key sequence being entered. The phone ringing may be suppressed
and/or the software on the phone may instruct a processor to
automatically answer the PSTN call and disconnect the VOIP
connection. Similarly, this may happen in reverse when transferring
a call from PSTN to VOIP. The In another embodiment, during a call
on the PSTN, the telecommunications switch may reroute the call via
the packet-switched network. The processor of the
telecommunications switch determines that the instruction to
transfer the phone call to the packet-switched network originated
from the hand-held wireless device where the call is currently
terminating.
[0007] In a still further embodiment, the step of determining
bandwidth is based on a data network type reported via the
packet-switched network from the hand-held wireless device.
Further, the step of sending the call to the public-switched
telephone network is carried out in all cases when the data network
type is known to be unable to support the call on the packet switch
network.
[0008] In still a further embodiment, a bill mechanism may be
instructed to levy a fee on an account associated with the called
party. The billing mechanism may be any way of tolling a wireless
subscriber for usage. The fee is determined based on units of time
during which the phone call is carried on the PSTN. "Units of
time," for purposes of this specification, are defined as any
measurable interval of time during which a call is carried on a
particular route or over a particular network. For example, the fee
may be levied in 6-second intervals, whereby a one minute-duration
of a call carried over the PSTN would be measured and billed as 10
units of time. The fee per unit time is higher when the phone call
is carried on the PSTN. The called party may be charged for part of
the duration of the phone call--the part of the duration
corresponding to an amount of time said call was active over the
PSTN.
[0009] In another embodiment of the disclosed technology, a method
is provided for switching telecommunications networks. The method
proceeds, not necessarily in any particular order, by: a) receiving
a phone call via the public-switched telephone network, the phone
call having a dialed number associated with a hand-held wireless
device of a called party; b) determining if in addition to a
network path via the public-switched telephone network, the
hand-held wireless device of said called party has an active and
authenticated data connection via a packet-switched network with a
telecommunications switch; c) determining that sufficient bandwidth
exists over the packet-switched network for the phone call; d)
sending the phone call to the hand-held wireless device associated
with the called party via the authenticated data connection; and/or
e) where an insufficient bandwidth condition arises over the
packet-switched network, connecting the phone call via the
public-switched telephone network.
[0010] In further embodiments of the disclosed method, the call is
first sent to the handheld wireless device via the PSTN; then after
receiving a command from the wireless device to reconnect the call,
the call is sent via the packet-switch network. Still further, the
call may be received at the telecommunications switch after having
been initially received via the public-switched telephone network.
In another embodiment, the phone call is received at the
telecommunications switch after being initially received from the
wireless device and automatically forwarded to the
telecommunications switch. The call may also be sent to the
hand-held wireless device via the packet-switched network.
[0011] In still a further embodiment of the disclosed method, an
additional step may be provided of receiving an indication from the
hand-held wireless device to reconnect the call via the
public-switch telephone network. The call may be transferable to
the packet-switch network by a prompt on the hand-held wireless
device. The call may be initially forwarded to the
telecommunications switch over the PSTN or the packet switched data
network.
[0012] In further embodiments of the disclosed method, a fee may be
charged for even only a portion of minutes of the phone call. The
portion may consist of, for example, minutes during which the phone
call continues over the public-switched telephone network.
Additional steps may be provided of: a) determining network
conditions of the packet switched network before the step of
attempting to send the phone call via the packet switched network;
b) at a first connecting of the call to the called party,
connecting the call via the public switched telephone network based
on insufficient network conditions for the call; and/or c)
transferring the phone call, to the packet switched network upon
detection of a pre-determined dual-tone multi-frequency ("DTMF")
key sequence being entered. Alternatively, the call may be sent via
the packet switch network, and during the call, the call may be
transferred to the public switched telephone network upon a
pre-determined threshold number of packets being dropped. Still
further, the phone call may be forwarded to a non-inward WATS
telephone number before the step of sending, and ANI information
may be sent to the hand-held wireless device in the form of caller
identification information.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 shows a diagram of steps taken when a call is
received by a called party of embodiments of the disclosed
technology.
[0014] FIG. 2 shows a diagram of a method of routing a call over
multiple switches in embodiments of the disclosed technology.
[0015] FIG. 3 shows a diagram of a method of routing a call similar
to that of FIG. 2, while incorporating a fee in embodiments of the
disclosed technology.
[0016] FIG. 4 shows a diagram of steps taken from the perspective
of a called party of embodiments of the disclosed technology.
[0017] FIG. 5 shows a high level drawing of an exemplary system
arrangement according to an embodiment of the disclosed
technology.
[0018] FIG. 6 shows a high-level block diagram of a device that may
be used to carry out the disclosed technology.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE DISCLOSED TECHNOLOGY
[0019] The disclosed technology described herein provides devices
and methods for redirecting a telephone call from a public-switched
telephone to a packet-switched data network. The phone call
initially being received via the public-switched telephone network
having a dialed number associated with a hand-held wireless device
of a called party. Upon initialization of the phone call, a route
is determined from the telecommunications switch to the hand-held
wireless device of the called party via a packet-switched network.
The bandwidth of the packet switched network is then detected to
determine the ability of the network to handle the call. If the
packet-switched network is determined to be capable of handing the
call, the call is forwarded over the packet-switched data, thereby
reducing or eliminating charges for wireless minutes. If the
bandwidth of the data-switched network is insufficient to handle
the current call, the call is moved to the public-switched network
for continuation.
[0020] Embodiments of the disclosed technology are described below,
with reference to the figures provided.
[0021] FIG. 1 shows a diagram of steps taken when a call is
received by a called party of embodiments of the disclosed
technology--the method being in step 110 when a telephone call is
received at a telecommunications switch, and the call being
directed to a called party. The call is received from a calling
party. A "calling party" defined as a person or device that
initiates a phone call over a telephone network, such as, for
example, a ordinary telephone service network, voice over internet
protocol network, combination thereof, or other. A switch is
defined as a device which, at least, receives and routes telephone
calls. A switch may also create and disconnect electrical
connections between two devices on a phone network, may record a
phone call, may receive/send and interpret DTMF tones or voice
prompts, and so forth. Further, when used in this disclosure, a
"switch" may include one or more separate devices which are
electrically connected, or with exchange data with each other over
a network to carry out steps disclosed in the claims of this patent
application. The telecommunications switch may be operated by a
third party and may be separate and distinct from the wireless
providers of the calling party and/or the called party.
[0022] Such a switch, as defined above, receives an incoming call
in step 310. This call is designated for a target-called party,
such as based on a phone number of the called party (a SIP ID or
other equivalents should be understood as being within the concept
of "called party," where a SIP ID is a session interface protocol.)
Next, in step 120, a route is determined by which the call will be
delivered to the hand-held wireless device (herein "wireless
device" or "mobile device") of the called party. This step may be
carried out before or after the phone call has been initially
delivered to the wireless device.
[0023] In step 130, it is determined whether the wireless device is
connected to a packet-switch data network. Packet-switch data
network, for purposes of this specification, is defined as any
network through which data packets may be sent wirelessly and
received via the internet. Such networks may be, for example, 3G,
3.5G, 4G, HSPA, HSPA+, Edge, LTE, etc. Furthermore, a mobile device
connected via wireless local area network (e.g., Wi-Fi) to the
internet may also be considered to be connected to a wireless
network. Such networks are distinguishable from a core-switched
network and/or the public-switched telephone network, both of which
are limited to transmitting voice calls and text. If a data
connection is detected, the method proceeds to step 140. If no data
connection is detected, in step 180, the call is executed over the
public-switched telephone network. The public switch telephone
network (herein "PSTN") is the publicly accessible circuit-switched
telephone network which allows any telephone in the world to
communicate with any other telephone.
[0024] In embodiments, the call may be received via the
public-switched telephone network, in which case step 180 would
involve the call continuing on the public-switched telephone
network. Detection of packet switch data network connectivity may
be carried out, at least in part, by a software application on the
mobile device. If data connectivity is detected, in step 140 is
determined whether sufficient bandwidth is available for handling a
voice call over the packet-switch data network. Thus, for example,
if the wireless device is connected to an Enhanced Data Rates for
GSM Evolution ("EDGE") network, the bandwidth may be approximately
400 kilobytes per second. Such speeds may be insufficient for
handling a voice call via packet data. As such, the call may be
directed to be executed over the public-switch telephone network in
step 180. If the wireless device is connected to a 4G network or a
local area network via Wi-Fi, for example, the bandwidth may be
sufficient. In carrying out this step, a threshold minimum
bandwidth may be calibrated that, if met, the method proceeds to
step 150.
[0025] In step 150, with certain prerequisites having been met, the
call is sent over the packet-switch network. As far as the calling
party is concerned, the call may carried out in similar manner to
any PSTN voice call, and the calling party may not even be made
aware that the call is being executed via a packet-switch data
network. The called party may or may not be put on notice that the
call is being executed over a packet-switch network. Such knowledge
however, may be invaluable to the called party upon taking the call
because the called party may choose to remain on the phone call for
a longer duration if he or she knows they aren't being charged for
minutes.
[0026] While the call is being carried out, packet loss may be
monitored. Packet loss occurs when one or more packets of data
traveling across a computer network fail to reach their destination
or are "dropped." For a wireless device, packet loss may occur, for
example, when a user is moving out of the range of a packet-switch
data network Thus, in step 160, if a threshold number of packets is
dropped during the course of the call, the call may be transferred
back to the PSTN. The dropped packets may be measured as a function
of time or in total. Such a measure prevents a possible drop call
or poor call quality. If few or no dropped packets are detected,
the call is maintained on the packet switch network in step
170.
[0027] Furthermore, when a call is rerouted to the public-switched
network, it may be re-routed back to the packet-switched network
upon detection of a pre-determined dual-toned multi-frequency key
being entered. Dual-toned multi-frequency (herein "DTMF) signaling
is the telecommunication signaling system carried out over analog
telephone lines on the public-switch telephone network. When a
desired number is to be called, such signals are sent in an array
and interpreted for determination of the number dialed to be
called.
[0028] FIG. 2 shows a diagram of a method of routing a call over
multiple switches in embodiments of the disclosed technology. A
calling party 200, defined as a person or device that initiates a
phone call over a telephone network (a plain old telephone service
(POTS) network, voice over internet protocol network (VOIP),
combination thereof, or other) places a call 230 directed to a
called party 210. This call is executed via a public switch 211,
which may be operated by the telecom provider of the calling party
and/or may comprise a plurality of switches between the calling
party 200 and called party 210. The call is then placed 235, via a
further leg or further legs (communications channels between two
switches or a switch and a party to the phone call) over the public
switched telephone network 211, 221 to a telecommunications switch
220. The telecommunications switch 220 ("telecom switch") may be
operated by a telecom provider or a third-party having no
association with either telecom provider of the calling party 200
and/or the called party 210.
[0029] At the telecom switch 220, the call may be moved 240 from
the PSTN 221 to a packet-switch network 222. The called party 210
is the desired target of the calling party 200 (or may be a new
target designated by the called party 210, such as by way of call
forwarding or the like). Thus, the call is then forwarded in step
245 via the packet switched network 222, from the called party 210.
Before forwarding the call and during the call, the number of
dropped packets is detected 250 over the packet switched network
222, 212 between the telecom switch 220 and the called party 210.
Upon detection of dropped packets, either before forwarding the
call or during the call, the call may be forwarded 255 back to the
called party 210 on the public switched telephone network 211. In
this instance, the leg of the call on the packet switch network, if
existing, is killed 260.
[0030] FIG. 3 shows a diagram of a method of routing a call similar
to that of FIG. 2, while incorporating a fee in embodiments of the
disclosed technology. In this embodiment, upon placing a call 310
to a called party 210, a billing mechanism 300 is initiated 301 to
apply billing charges. Such charges may be facilitated by a
wireless provider, and may be measured, for example, in minutes.
The call is placed 315 to the called party 210 over the PSTM 211
with charges accruing. The wireless device of the called party 210,
if employing the disclosed technology, returns the call 320 to the
telecommunications switch 220 via PSTN 211, 221 communication.
[0031] At the telecom switch 220, the call is moved 325 to the
packet switch network 222. As the call is forwarded 330, the
billing mechanism 300 is turned off 302 due to the call being
transmitted via packet data. The call is then forwarded 335 to the
called party 210 via the packet-switch network 212. Again, the
monitoring of dropped packets 340 begins before the forwarding and
during the handling of the call over the packet switch network 212.
Upon detection of packet loss, a leg may be initiated forwarding
the call 345 to the called party 210 via the PSTN 211. If the call
is forwarded in step 345 via the PSTN 211, then the packet-switched
leg 212, 222 is killed in step 350.
[0032] The billing mechanism 300 is instructed to levy (charge) a
fee to an account associated with the called party 200. The billing
mechanism 300 may be any way of tolling a wireless subscriber for
usage. The fee is determined based on units of time during which
the phone call is carried on the PSTN. "Units of time," for
purposes of this specification, are defined as any measurable
interval of time during which a call is carried on a particular
route or over a particular network. For example, the fee may be
levied in 6-second intervals whereby a one minute duration of a
call carried over the PSTN would be measured and billed as 10 units
of time. The fee per unit time may be higher when the phone call is
carried over the PSTN. Alternatively, the fee may only be charged
when the call is carried over the PSTN. As such, when the call is
switched to the PSTN 211, the billing mechanism 300 is toggled to
be on 301, thus recording units of time for purposes of billing.
The called party may be charged for part of the duration of the
phone call, the part of the duration corresponding to an amount of
time said call was active over the PSTN.
[0033] FIG. 4 shows a diagram of steps taken from the perspective
of a called party of embodiments of the disclosed technology. In
this embodiment, the called party may have an interface configured
via an associated wireless device by which the called party may be
able to designate how an incoming call is routed. For example, the
called party may configure the wireless device to automatically
take certain steps when an incoming call is received.
Alternatively, the wireless device may be configured to prompt the
called party, each time a call is received, to decide how the call
should be routed.
[0034] The method begins with step, 410 whereby a called party
receives an incoming call. In step 420, the network employed to
carry the call is determined. Again, this may be carried out
automatically based on user pre-configuration, or on a manual basis
by prompting the called party. If the PSTN is chosen, then the call
continues on the PSTN pursuant to step 430. In step 470, the call
is connected. If the packet-switch network is elected to carry out
the call, the call is forwarded to the telecom switch 440. Then, in
step 450 the bandwidth of the packet data connection is assessed to
determine if the call can be handled via packet data. If the
bandwidth is insufficient, the call may be routed back to the
public switched telephone network in step 430. As such, the call
would be connected in step 470 via the PSTN. If the bandwidth is
determined to be sufficient to handle the call, then, in step 460,
the call is sent via the packet-switch data network. Then, the call
is connected in step 470 via the packet-switch data network.
[0035] FIG. 5 shows a high level drawing of an exemplary system
arrangement according to an embodiment of the disclosed technology.
A calling party 510 initiates a phone call over a telephone
network, such as, for example, a plain old telephone service
network, voice over internet protocol network, combination thereof,
or other. The call accesses the public-switched telephone network
520 to be forwarded to a wireless device of a called party 530.
When the call is received, the wireless device of the called party
530 accesses a telecom switch 550 via a packet-switch network 540
for purposes of transferring the call thereto. Access to the packet
switch network 540 may be carried out using a pre-existing data
connection provided by a telecommunications provider associated
with the wireless device.
[0036] Access to the telecom switch 550 may be carried out via the
packet switch network 540 using an interface on the wireless
device. The interface may be, for example, a software application
installed onto the wireless device. The software application may be
configured by a user. The wireless device may communicate data to
and from the telecom switch 550. The data may include account
information, billing information, automatic number identification
("ANI"), and other information relevant to the call, the calling
party, and the called party. The telecom switch 500 is a central
repository for all accounts associated with called parties. The
telecom switch 550 executes the transfer and forwarding of calls
using a hub 560. In an embodiment thereof, a hub 560 comprises a
processor 561, memory 562, input/output 563, storage 564, and a
network interface 565. These features correspond to those described
in further detail below with regard to FIG. 6 and the description
thereof, below.
[0037] From the telecom switch 550, the call is transferred back to
the called party 530 to be preferably handled over the
packet-switch network 540 subject to the bandwidth and connectivity
considerations previously discussed. All of the steps and processes
illustrated may be carried out simultaneously or over a short
period of time.
[0038] FIG. 6 shows a high-level block diagram of a device that may
be used to carry out the disclosed technology. Device 600 comprises
a processor 650 that controls the overall operation of the computer
by executing the device's program instructions which define such
operation. The device's program instructions may be stored in a
storage device 620 (e.g., magnetic disk, database) and loaded into
memory 630 when execution of the console's program instructions is
desired. Thus, the device's operation will be defined by the
device's program instructions stored in memory 630 and/or storage
620, and the console will be controlled by processor 650 executing
the console's program instructions. A device 600 also includes one
or a plurality of input network interfaces for communicating with
other devices via a network (e.g., the internet). The device 600
further includes an electrical input interface. A device 600 also
includes one or more output network interfaces 610 for
communicating with other devices. Device 600 also includes
input/output 640 representing devices which allow for user
interaction with a computer (e.g., display, keyboard, mouse,
speakers, buttons, etc.). One skilled in the art will recognize
that an implementation of an actual device will contain other
components as well, and that FIG. 6 is a high level representation
of some of the components of such a device for illustrative
purposes. It should also be understood by one skilled in the art
that the method and devices depicted in FIGS. 1 through 5 may be
implemented on a device such as is shown in FIG. 6.
[0039] Further, it should be understood that all subject matter
disclosed herein is directed and should be read only on statutory,
non-abstract subject matter. All terminology should be read to
include only the portions of the definitions which may be claimed.
By way of example, "computer readable storage medium" is understood
to be defined as only non-transitory storage mediums.
[0040] While the disclosed technology has been taught with specific
reference to the above embodiments, a person having ordinary skill
in the art will recognize that changes can be made in form and
detail without departing from the spirit and the scope of the
disclosed technology. The described embodiments are to be
considered in all respects only as illustrative and not
restrictive. All changes that come within the meaning and range of
equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
Combinations of any of the methods, systems, and devices described
hereinabove are also contemplated and within the scope of the
disclosed technology.
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