Communications terminal, a system and a method for internet/network telephony
View Patent ↗A communication terminal for Internet telephony is provided that handles and control communication of data in accordance with a standardized network protocol and exchanges data with a connecting unit connected to the Internet where the resulting data exchanged between the terminal and a connecting unit consist of packets in a standardized protocol data packet format embedded in a wireless format. This provides a communications terminal which uses a network or the Internet for the transfer of digitized speech, etc., thereby achieving great economic savings. Also, the flexibility is increased with respect to wireless communication with the network or the Internet without any need for specialized equipment and functionality.
1. An electronic portable communications terminal for network telephony comprising:
audio means reproducing sound on the basis of a first electrical signal and to record sound resulting in a second electrical signal,
converting means converting said second electrical signal into transmission data, representing sound for transmission, in a suitable data format, and to convert received data, representing received sound, in said suitable data format into said first electrical signal,
protocol means connected to said converting means and handling and controlling communication of said received and transmission data in accordance with a standardized network protocol, thereby embedding and extracting said transmission and received data, respectively, in/from a data packet format according to said standardized network protocol, and
wireless near field communications means connected to said protocol means and receiving/sending said received and transmission data in said first data packet format from/to said protocol means, the near field communications means embedding said transmission data in said first data packet format received from said protocol means in a wireless second data format and to extract said received data in said first data packet format from said wireless second data format, the wireless near field communications means performing wireless near field communication of said received data or said transmission data embedded in said wireless second data format with a connecting unit communicating in said wireless second, data format and to establish a connection to a network according to said standardized network protocol, whereby the resulting data exchanged between the wireless near field communication means and the connecting unit consist of packets in said first data packet format embedded in said wireless second data format.
2. The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein said standardized network protocol is the TCP/IP protocol, where said terminal communicates additional information or data with said connecting unit, and that said additional information or data comprises one or more of:
an IP address of a communication receiver,
an IP address of said terminal,
an IP address of at least one connecting unit,
an IP address of a service server, and
TCP/IP packets.
3. The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein said terminal communicates additional information or data with said connecting unit, and that said additional information or data comprises one or more of:
speech mails,
commercials,
music,
stock exchange and financial news,
chat-lines,
chat-rooms, and
telephone meetings.
4. The terminal according to claim 3 , wherein said terminal a connection to a service server on said network via said connecting unit, so that information concerning a desired communication receiver is transferred to the server, said server passing on information concerning an IP address of the desired communication receiver and to establish a direct connection between the desired communication receiver and said terminal.
5. The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein said terminal additionally comprises speech recognition means analyzing and interpreting said sound for recording or said transmission data in order to identify one or more commands.
6. The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein said near field communications means for near field communication communicates in the form of one or more of:
a radio-frequency (RF) communications protocol,
the Bluetooth wireless near field communications protocol,
an infrared communications protocol, and
another wireless communications protocol.
7. The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein said suitable data format is a compressed data format.
8. The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein said terminal is an ear telephone that comprises means for capturing sound for said recording via the cheek-bone and the soft tissue in the auditory canal of a user.
9. The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein said terminal is a headset comprising:
a housing comprising the converting means, the wireless near field communication means, and the protocol means,
an earpiece secured to the housing comprising means for reproducing sound on the basis of the first electrical signal,
a brace secured to the housing at one end and with a sound capturing unit for capturing sound for transmission in the form of a second electrical signal located at the other end of the brace.
10. The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein said network is the Internet.
11. A system for network telephony, the system comprising:
a portable communications terminal comprising:
protocol means handling and controlling communication of received and transmission data in accordance with a standardized network protocol, thereby embedding and extracting said transmission and received data, respectively, in/from a first data packet format according to said standardized network protocol, and
wireless near field communications means connected to said protocol means and receiving/sending said received and transmission data in said first data packet format from/to said protocol means, the near field communications means embedding said transmission data in said first data packet format received from said protocol means in a wireless second data format and to extract said received data in said first data packet format from said wireless second data format, the wireless near field communications means performing wireless near field communication of said received data or said transmission data embedded in said wireless second data format with a connecting unit communicating in said wireless second data format and to establish a connection to a network according to said standardized network protocol, whereby the resulting data exchanged between the wireless near field communication means and the connecting unit consists of packets in said first data packet format embedded in said wireless second data format,
a connecting unit connected to a wireless near field communications module communicating in a wireless second data format, the connecting unit establishing a connection to a network,
a service server connected to a network, said server comprising one or more databases comprising information related to potential desired communication receivers or transmitters, said server being passing on information concerning an IP address of a desired communication receiver and establishing a direct connection between the desired communication receiver and a communication transmitter, wherein said terminal is acting as a communication transmitter or as a communication receiver within the system.
12. The system according to claim 11 , wherein said system additionally comprises speech recognition means analyzing and interpreting data representing sound to identify one or more commands.
13. A method for network telephony comprising the steps of:
reproducing sound on the basis of a first electrical signal and recording sound resulting in a second electrical signal, by audio means,
converting said second electrical signal into transmission data, representing sound for transmission, in a suitable data format, and converting received data, representing received sound, in said suitable data format into said first electrical signal, by converting means, and
handling/controlling communication of said received and transmission data in accordance with a standardized network protocol and embedding and extracting said transmission and received data, respectively, in/from a first data packet format according to said standardized network protocol, by protocol means,
receiving/sending, by wireless near field communication means, of said received data or said transmission data in said first data packet format from/to said protocol means, embedding said transmission data in said first data format received from said protocol means in a wireless second data format and extracting said received data in said first data format from said wireless second format,
communicating, by said wireless near field communication means of said received data or said transmission data embedded in said wireless second data format with a connecting unit communicating in said wireless second data format and to establish a connection to a network according to said standardized network protocol, whereby the resulting data exchange between the wireless near field communication means and the connecting unit consist of packets in said first data packet format embedded in said wireless second data format.
14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said standardized network protocol is the TCP/IP protocol, said method communicates additional information or data with said connecting unit, and that said additional information or data comprises one or more of:
an IP address of a communication receiver,
an IP address of a said terminal,
an IP address of at least one connecting unit,
an IP address of a service server, and
TCP/IP packets.
15. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said method communicates additional information or data with said connecting unit, and that said additional information or data comprises one or more of:
speech mails,
commercials,
music,
stock exchange and financial news,
chat-lines,
chat-rooms, and
telephone meetings.
16. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said method establishes a connection to a service server on said network via said connecting unit,
so that information concerning a desired communication receiver transferred to the server, said server passing on information concerning the IP address of the desired communication receiver and to establish a direct connection between the desired communication receiver and said terminal.
17. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said method additionally comprises speech recognition for analysis and interpretation of said sound for recording or said transmission data in order to identify one or more commands.
18. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said communications means for near field communication communicates in the form of one or more of:
a radio frequency (RF) communications protocol,
the Bluetooth wireless near field communications protocol,
an infrared communications protocol, and
another wireless communications protocol.
19. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said suitable data format is compressed data format.
20. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said method is used in an ear telephone which comprises means for capturing sound for said recording via the cheek-bone and the soft tissue in the auditory canal of a user.
21. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said method is used in a headset comprising:
a housing comprising converting means, wireless near field communication means, and protocol means,
an earpiece secured to the housing comprising means for reproducing sound on the basis of the first electrical signal,
a brace secured to the housing at one end and with a sound capturing unit for capturing sound for transmission in the form of a second electrical signal located at the other end of the brace.
22. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said network is the Internet.
23. A computer-readable medium comprising a program written thereon, wherein the program, when being executed, provides one or more computers or CPUs with program means for performing a method for network telephony comprising the steps of:
reproducing sound on the basis of a first electrical signal and recording sound resulting in a second electrical signal, by audio means,
converting said second electrical signal into transmission data, representing sound for transmission, in a suitable data format, and converting received data, representing received sound, in said suitable data format into said first electrical signal, by converting means, and
handling/controlling communication of said received and transmission data in accordance with a standardized network protocol and embedding and extracting said transmission and received data, respectively, in/from a first data packet format according to said standardized network protocol, by protocol means,
wherein said method further comprises the steps of
receiving/sending, by wireless near field communication means, of said received data or said transmission data in said first data packet format from/to said protocol means, embedding said transmission data in said first data format received from said protocol means in a wireless second data format and extracting said received data in said first data format from said wireless second format,
communicating, by said wireless near field communication means of said received date or said transmission data embedded in said wireless second data format with a connecting unit adapted to communicating in said wireless second data format and to establish a connection to a network according to said standardized network protocol, whereby the resulting data exchanged between the wireless near field communication means and the connecting unit consist of packets in said first data packet format embedded in said wireless second data format.