KR20090107028A - Method for making telephone calls with a telephone apparatus operative with multiple networks - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus (100) having a telephonic communication capability with multiple networks enables users to make telephone calls in a simplified manner. According to an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus (100) includes a memory (16) for storing a first telephone number including an area code, and a processor (14) for receiving a signal to dial the stored first telephone number and for determining whether the first network or the second network is selected. If the first network is selected, the processor (14) causes the stored first telephone number to be dialed. If the second network is selected, the processor (14) enables a user to select between the stored first telephone number and a second telephone number derived from the stored first telephone number by deleting at least the area code. The processor (14) also causes a selected one of the stored first telephone number and the second telephone number to be dialed.

Description

METHOD FOR MAKING TELEPHONE CALLS WITH A TELEPHONE APPARATUS OPERATIVE WITH MULTIPLE NETWORKS

<Cross Reference to Related Application>

This application claims priority to Provisional Application Serial No. 60 / 879,291, filed with the United States Patent Office on January 8, 2007, and takes all the benefits arising therefrom, PCT application PCT / filed on June 25, 2007 We claim US2007 / 14889 as a priority and take all the benefits from it.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to devices having telephony capabilities in multiple networks, and more particularly to a method that allows a user to make a phone call using such a device in a simple manner.

Certain telephone devices can operate in multiple networks. For example, some telephone devices may operate in an Internet-based telephone network such as a Skype ^™ network, and may also operate in a network such as a conventional public switched telephone network (PSTN). The ability to communicate over multiple networks is generally beneficial, but this can also cause problems if different networks can use different dialing formats.

For example, certain networks, such as the US PSTN, generally provide a caller identification record using a 10 digit format (eg, 317-555-1212). Therefore, in such a network, the caller ID record of the incoming telephone call is received and stored in the telephone apparatus in this 10-digit format. When dialing one of these stored telephone numbers, the user needs to have the option to delete the digit from the stored call record, depending on the region of the country in which the user lives and depending on the destination of the dialed telephone number.

Certain typical telephone apparatuses may include a "format" key or option that allows a user to change the telephone number to a 7, 10 or 11 digit telephone number. In addition, some telephone apparatuses allow the user to enter a local area code so that the telephone number of the incoming telephone call is stored as a 7-digit local telephone number, so that the stored telephone number can be dialed without the user formatting the telephone number. It becomes possible. However, these typical techniques do not deal with products that have the ability to dial stored telephone numbers over multiple networks, such as Internet-based telephone networks (eg, Skype ^™ networks) and conventional PSTNs.

Accordingly, there is a need to provide a method that solves the above problem and, accordingly, allows a user to make a phone call using a telephone apparatus operating in a plurality of networks in a simpler manner. The present invention solves these and / or other problems.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method of making a phone call via a device operating in a first and a second network is disclosed. According to an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises: storing a first number; Receiving a signal to call the stored first number; Determining whether the first network or the second network is to be selected; If the first network is selected, transmitting the stored first number; If a second network is selected, allowing a user to select from a stored first number and a second number derived from the stored first number; And transmitting a selected number among the stored first number and the second number.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus having communication capability in first and second networks is disclosed. According to an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus comprises: data storage means such as a memory for storing a first number; And processing means, such as a microprocessor, for receiving a signal to call the stored first number and for determining whether the first network or the second network is to be selected. If the first network is selected, the processing means causes the stored first number to be transmitted. If a second network is selected, the processing means allows the user to select between a stored first number and a second number derived from the stored first number. The processing means causes the selected number of the stored first number and the second number to be transmitted.

1 is a block diagram of a relevant portion of a telephone apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing steps for making a call in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 through 5 are user interfaces for allowing a user to make a phone call in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

With reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the above and other features and advantages of the invention and methods of achieving them will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood.

The examples disclosed herein describe preferred embodiments of the present invention, which should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any way.

Referring now to the drawings, and more specifically to FIG. 1, shown is a block diagram of a relevant portion of the telephone apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, telephone apparatus 100 includes user input terminal 10, input / output (I / O) means such as I / O block 12, processing means such as processor 14, and memory. Data storage means such as 16, visual I / O means such as display 18, and auditory I / O means such as voice transceiver 20. FIG. Some of the components of the telephone apparatus 100 may be implemented using one or more integrated circuits (ICs). For clarity of explanation, certain conventional components associated with telephone apparatus 100, such as certain control signals, power signals, and / or other components, may not be shown in FIG. According to an exemplary embodiment, the telephone apparatus 100 of FIG. 1 may be implemented as any type of device, system, and / or apparatus having telephony capabilities, for example audio and / or video processing capabilities. And may be incorporated into devices, systems, and / or devices having other capabilities, such as:

The user input terminal 10 receives an input from a user and operates to output a signal corresponding to the user input to the processor 14. According to an exemplary embodiment, the user input terminal 10 may be embodied as a keypad with a plurality of keys to enable numeric and alphabetic input functions. The user input terminal 10 may also include a voice input function. The user input terminal 10 may be illuminated, for example, in use (eg, via a light emitting diode (LED) and / or other lighting means).

I / O block 12 is operative to perform I / O functions of telephone apparatus 100. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, I / O block 12 is connected to other devices, systems, and / or devices in various different networks, including PSTNs and Internet-based telephony networks such as Skype ^™ or other networks. Transmit signals and receive signals therefrom. I / O block 12 may include one or more antenna components, plugs, and / or other types of I / O components.

The processor 14 operates to perform various signal processing and control functions of the telephone apparatus 100. According to an exemplary embodiment, the processor 14 operates to execute software code that allows a user to make outgoing calls in a simple manner in accordance with the principles of the present invention. According to this exemplary embodiment, the processor 14 detects and processes user input made through the user input terminal 10, reads data from the memory 16 and writes data to the memory 16, dialing out ( performing call processing functions, including dialing out and call receiving functions, enabling display of the user interface via display 18, and / or performing functions of telephone apparatus 100 including other functions, and And / or enable it.

As used herein, the term "dialing" means transmitting a signal indicative of a telephone number to a server in a network, whereby the server transmits the telephone identified by the transmitted telephone number through a telephone apparatus ( 100).

The memory 16 operates to perform data storage functions of the telephone apparatus 100. According to an exemplary embodiment, memory 16 stores data including executable software code, on-screen display data, telephone numbers of previously dialed and incoming calls, user setting data, and / or other data. do.

The display 18 operates to provide a visual display under the control of the processor 14. According to an exemplary embodiment, display 18 provides a visual display of a user interface that allows a user to make outgoing calls in a simple manner in accordance with the principles of the present invention. Display 18 may be implemented as a touch screen. In this case, display 18 may include a touch icon corresponding to one or more keys of user input terminal 10. Voice transceiver 20 is operative to transmit voice data to and receive voice data from processor 14 during a phone call.

2, a flowchart 200 is shown illustrating steps for making a phone call in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. For purposes of illustration and description, the steps of FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the telephone apparatus 100 of FIG. 1 and the example user interface shown in FIGS. The steps in FIG. 2 are exemplary only and are not intended to limit the invention in any way.

In step 210, the telephone apparatus 100 stores a plurality of telephone numbers. The telephone number includes the first and second parts. Regardless of which of the first and second networks is selected, the first part must be used, while the second part is not always used in the call. If a first network is chosen, such as an internet based telephone network, all of the second part must be used in the call. If a second network, such as a PSTN, is selected, all or part of the second portion may not be needed.

The first part may exist under different names in different countries. For example, the first portion may be called a subscriber code or local code in multiple countries. The number of digits in the first portion may vary from country to country. For example, in the United States, the first portion has seven digits. In some countries, the number of digits in the first portion may not be fixed. For example, it can vary from five digits to eight digits.

The second portion is generally attached to the first portion to form a stored telephone number. The second portion may include an area code, a country code, and access codes such as carrier and switch selection codes. In general, the area code is appended first, followed by the country code and access code. In the past, area codes have generally been assigned to geographic areas. But not anymore. For example, some area codes may be allocated for mobile phone use and other special purposes such as toll free calls. As such, as used herein, area codes may be geographical or non-geographic and may be called different names. The country code is used to identify the country. The access code may be added to a number having an area code and a first part or a country code, area code, and a first part. The access code can be used to identify the type of call. For example, dialing 1 first in the United States would indicate that the call was a long distance call and dialing 011 would indicate that the call was an international call. The access code may also be used to select different carriers in some countries. In this example, the stored telephone number includes only the first part and the area code, but this is only an example. The stored number may include a country code and / or an access code as described above.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the memory 16 stores, in step 210, the area code associated with this telephone number, along with the telephone numbers of all outgoing and incoming telephone calls of the telephone apparatus 100. The memory 16 may also store a telephone number including the associated area code, downloaded to the telephone apparatus 100 from another device, system and / or devices via the I / O block 12 in step 210. . According to an exemplary embodiment, the telephone numbers of the outgoing and incoming telephone calls of the telephone apparatus 100 may also be stored in a server (not shown in the figure) associated with one or more networks on which the telephone apparatus 100 operates. . For example, the telephone numbers of outgoing and incoming phone calls may be stored on a server associated with an internet based telephone network, such as a server associated with Skype ^™ and / or other networks.

In step 220, the user initiates an outgoing telephone call through the telephone apparatus 100. According to an example embodiment, the user may initiate an outgoing phone call by scrolling the displayed list of phone numbers stored in step 210 and selecting a desired phone number among the phone numbers, in step 220. 3 shows an exemplary list of such telephone numbers, including the names of the portions indicated by reference numerals 32, 34 and 36. The number of individual telephone numbers displayed at one time on the display 18 can be set according to design choices. For illustration and description, the example list of FIG. 3 displays three separate telephone numbers at a time.

The user can scroll through the list of stored phone numbers by pressing a predetermined key (eg, up / down keys, etc.) on the user input terminal 10 (or on the display 18 if implemented as a touch screen). have. When the desired telephone number is highlighted through the scrolling process, the user can select one or more predetermined keys (eg, select, dial, etc.) at the user input terminal 10 (or on the display 18 if implemented as a touch screen). Press and, accordingly, will select and initiate dialing of the highlighted phone number. In FIG. 3, for example, it is assumed that the user has highlighted and selected the telephone number "317-222-1234" for dialing in step 220. Once the desired telephone number is selected, a signal is sent from the user input terminal 10 (or display 18 if implemented as a touch screen) to the processor 14 to initiate dialing of the selected telephone number. It should be noted that the user may initiate an outgoing telephone call in step 220 via other means, such as providing a voice command via the user input terminal 10.

In step 230, it is determined whether the outgoing telephone call is made via the first network or through the second network. According to an exemplary embodiment, the first network is an internet-based telephone network such as Skype ^™ or another network, and the second network is a PSTN. In practice, however, other networks may represent the first and second networks. Processor 14 performs the determination at step 230 based on user selection for either the first network or the second network. This selection may be made before or after the user initiates the outgoing telephone call in step 220.

According to one exemplary embodiment, the user makes the selection before initiating the outgoing telephone call in step 220 by selecting either the first network or the second network during the user setup process for the telephone apparatus 100. . In this exemplary embodiment, the user selects either the first network or the second network to handle all outgoing telephone calls made through the telephone apparatus 100, and the data corresponding to this user setting selection is stored in memory 16. ) According to another exemplary embodiment, the user makes the selection immediately after initiating the outgoing telephone call in step 220 and, accordingly, selects between the first network and the second network on a call-by-call basis. do.

Regardless of whether the selection is made before or after the user initiates the outgoing telephone call in step 220, the selection itself may be facilitated by the user interface, as shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the user may select one or more predetermined keys (eg, up, down, select, etc.) on the user input terminal 10 (or on the display 18 when implemented as a touch screen). Can be used to highlight and select either the first network indicated by reference numeral 42 (ie, the Skype ^TM network) or the second network indicated by reference numeral 44 (ie, the landline or PSTN network). As mentioned above, the processor 14 makes a determination in step 230 based on this user selection.

If the determination at step 230 indicates that the first network will be used for outgoing telephone calls, the process flow may be determined by dialing out over a first network (eg, a Skype ^™ network or other Internet based network). The control proceeds to step 240 where an outgoing telephone call is made under the control of the processor 14. It should be noted that when the first network is used for outgoing telephone calls, the telephone number can be dialed as stored in a server (not shown in the figure) for the first network.

Alternatively, if the determination at step 230 indicates that the second network will be used for an outgoing telephone call, the process flow may be based on the dialing format for the telephone number selected at step 220 by the user under control of the processor 14. Proceed to step 250 to select. According to an exemplary embodiment, the user selects one of at least three different dialing formats in step 250. These three different dialing formats include 11, 10 and 7 digit versions of the selected telephone number, as indicated by reference numerals 52, 54 and 56 respectively in FIG. As shown in Fig. 5, the eleven digit versions of the selected telephone number, indicated by reference numeral 52, include digit " 1 " as well as area code " 317 ". The ten digit version of the selected telephone number, indicated by reference numeral 54, includes the area code "317" but does not include the digit "1". The seven digit version of the selected telephone number, indicated by reference numeral 56, does not include both digit "1" and area code "317". Other numbers may be obtained from the selected and stored number and added to the selection list as well. For example, country code and / or access code may be added to form additional numbers for user selection.

From the user interface of FIG. 5, the user simply highlights the desired one of the three different versions of the selected phone number and then one on the user input terminal 10 (or on the display 18 when implemented as a touch screen). The above selected keys (e.g., select, dial, etc.) may be pressed and the desired dialing format may be selected in step 250 so that it is dialed. According to an exemplary embodiment, if the user has already entered an area code when dialing the selected phone number, the 7 digit version of the selected phone number may be highlighted as the default, but the user may still select the 10 or 11 digit version if desired. Can be.

After the user selects the dialing format in step 250, the process flow may be changed to a second network (e.g., terrestrial communication line or PSTN network) under the control of the processor 14 by the telephone apparatus 100 using the dialing format selected in step 250. FIG. Proceed to step 260 of dialing out the selected phone number through.

Although stored numbers have been described as telephone numbers, these are merely examples. The stored number may be the number of any addressing technique that identifies a network terminal, such as a telephone and a personal computer. For example, this number may represent a network address, where the network terminal is a personal computer addressed by each of these network addresses.

As described herein, the present invention provides a method that allows a user to make a phone call using a telephone device operating in multiple networks in a simple manner. Although the present invention has been described as having a good design, the present invention may be further modified within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, such an application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using the general principles of the invention. Moreover, such an application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as included within the scope of the appended claims and within the known or customary practice of the prior art to which the present invention pertains.

Claims (27)

A method (200) for making a call via a device operating in first and second networks, Storing 210 a first number; Receiving (220) a signal to call the stored first number; Determining (230) whether the first network is selected or the second network is selected; If the first network is selected, transmitting (240) the stored first number; If the second network is selected, allowing a user to select from the stored first number and a second number derived from the stored first number (250); And Transmitting a selected number among the stored first number and the second number (260) Method (200) for making a call via an apparatus operating in first and second networks. The method of claim 1, And the first network is an internet based telephone network, wherein a call is made through a device operating in the first and second networks. The method of claim 1, And the second network is a public switched telephone network, the method of making a call via a device operating in the first and second networks. The method of claim 1, The method (200) of making a call via a device operating in the first and second networks, wherein the selection of the first network or the second network is made before the receiving step (220). The method of claim 4, wherein The selection of the first network or the second network is made during the setup process of the device, wherein the user selects one of the first and second networks to handle all outgoing calls made through the device. Method (200) for making a call via a device operating in first and second networks. The method of claim 1, The method (200) of making a call via a device operating in the first and second networks, wherein the selection of the first network or the second network is made after the receiving step (220). The method of claim 6, The method 200 of making a call via a device operating in first and second networks, wherein the selection of the first network or the second network is made by the user on a call-by-call basis. . The method of claim 1, The first number includes a first portion to be included in the call and a second portion including at least one code, wherein the second number is deleted by deleting one of the at least one code of the second portion. A method (200) for making a call through a device operating in first and second networks, obtained from the first number. The method of claim 1, And the second number is obtained from the first number by adding at least one digit to the first number, via a device operating in first and second networks. An apparatus 100 having communication capability in first and second networks, Data storage means (16) for storing a first number; And Processing means for receiving a signal to call the stored first number and for determining whether the first network is selected or the second network is selected, If the first network is selected, the processing means 14 causes the stored first number to be transmitted, If the second network is selected, the processing means 14 allows a user to select between the stored first number and a second number derived from the stored first number, Said processing means (14) having a communication capability in first and second networks such that a selected one of said stored first number and said second number is transmitted. The method of claim 10, And the first network is an internet based telephone network. The method of claim 10, And said second network is a public switched telephone network. The method of claim 10, The selection of the first network or the second network has communication capability in the first and second networks, before the processing means 14 receives a signal to dial the stored first number. Device 100. The method of claim 13, The selection of the first network or the second network is such that the user selects one of the first and second networks to handle all outgoing calls made through the device 100. Apparatus (100) having communication capability in the first and second networks, during the setup process. The method of claim 10, The selection of the first network or of the second network has communication capability in the first and second networks, after the processing means 14 receives a signal to dial the stored first number. Device 100. The method of claim 15, The apparatus (100) with communication capability in first and second networks, wherein the selection of the first network or the second network is made by the user on a per call basis. The method of claim 10, The first number includes a first portion to be included in the call and a second portion including at least one code, wherein the second number is deleted by deleting one of the at least one code of the second portion. Apparatus (100) having communication capability in first and second networks, obtained from the first number. The method of claim 10, And the second number is obtained from the first number by adding at least one digit to the first number. An apparatus 100 having communication capability in first and second networks, A memory 16 operative to store a first number; And A processor 14 operable to receive a signal to call the stored first number and to determine whether the first network is selected or the second network is selected; If the first network is selected, the processor 14 causes the stored first number to be transmitted, Once the second network is selected, the processor 14 allows a user to select between the stored first number and a second number derived from the stored first number, The processor (14) having a communication capability in first and second networks such that the selected one of the stored first number and the second number is transmitted. The method of claim 19, And the first network is an internet based telephone network. The method of claim 19, And said second network is a public switched telephone network. The method of claim 19, The selection of the first network or the second network is a device having communication capability in first and second networks, before the processor 14 receives a signal to dial the stored first number. 100. The method of claim 22, The selection of the first network or the second network is such that the user selects one of the first and second networks to handle all outgoing calls made through the device 100. Apparatus (100) having communication capability in the first and second networks, during the setup process. The method of claim 19, The selection of the first network or the second network is made after the processor 14 receives a signal to dial the stored first number, the apparatus having communication capability in the first and second networks. 100. The method of claim 24, The apparatus (100) with communication capability in first and second networks, wherein the selection of the first network or the second network is made by the user on a per call basis. The method of claim 19, The first number includes a first portion to be included in the call and a second portion including at least one code, wherein the second number deletes one of the at least one code of the second portion. And having a communication capability in the first and second networks, thereby obtained from the first number. The method of claim 19, And the second number is obtained from the first number by adding at least one digit to the first number.

Images