Abstract:
A physical interface to a soft-phone application makes use of a cordless telephone handset with a display to allow a user to browse a contact list, initiate calls and receive Voice over Internet Protocol calls over a familiar interface without being tied to a stationary computer.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/656,402 filed Feb. 28, 2005. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     i) Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates generally to telephony handsets. More particularly, the present invention relates to a telephone handset for connection to a personal computer for interaction with Voice over IP software client, with an optional standard circuit switched telephony interface for bridging calls to the circuit switched telephone network.  
         [0004]     ii) Summary of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony is a rapidly expanding market, in which a number of companies are providing users with the ability to use a standard packet based Internet connection to place phone calls to both other VoIP customers and to users of the standard telephony network.  
         [0006]     Many VoIP service providers make use of VoIP phones that contain networking hardware and connect to Ethernet networks, and are then connected to the Internet. These hardware solutions provide an interface that most users are familiar with, and allow simple dialing by number. However, these hardware solutions require that you make use of particular services that support the phone connection, many of which charge fees.  
         [0007]     In another portion of the VoIP space, soft-phones are used to allow users to place phone calls. Soft-phones are applications executed on a personal computer and receives audio signals from a microphone connected to the personal computer. The soft-phone application digitizes the received audio signal and sends it over a VolP network to the other party or parties in the call. Received audio is played over the computer&#39;s audio out. These applications are often used with headsets that acoustically isolate the microphone and speakers from each other to prevent feedback.  
         [0008]     Soft-phone applications are often combined with contact lists (commonly referred to as buddy lists), that allow the soft-phone applications to initiate a call. Many of these applications have been integrated with instant messenger (IM) applications. As a result, a user can view a contact list and determine which contacts are presently online, and able to receive a VoIP call. lf the contact information includes alternate calling numbers for a contact, a call can be initiated to an offline contact by switching to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to complete the call.  
         [0009]     Soft-phone applications are commonly used, as they provide low cost calling, but require that a user be physically near the computer running the application to use. In many homes, users are thus constricted to a single room if they want to use these applications. This reduces the utility of the application, as the user is bound to a single location for both making and receiving calls unless the user decides to carry a computer around. This is an inconvenience to many users. Additionally, many users are uncomfortable with the use of a headset for making telephone calls, as they are far more familiar with the standard telephone handset design.  
         [0010]     It is, therefore, desirable to provide a system to allow users mobility while connected to a soft-phone application, which also provides the user with a comfortable interface.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at least one of the foregoing disadvantages.  
         [0012]     In a first aspect, the present invention provides an interface for soft phone applications as described below.  
         [0013]     The present invention provides a wireless telephone styled handset that can be connected to a computer to interface with soft-phone applications. By using standard telephone wireless connections, such as in the 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz bands using conventional protocol standards, for example the Worldwide Digital Cordless Telecommunications (WDCT) or Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephone (DECT) standards, a cordless telephone interface can be provided to the user. A wireless telephone handset communicates with a wireless base station that is coupled to an Internet interface device, such as a personal computer (PC), running a VoIP client, generally referred to as a soft-phone application. The internet interface device provides a platform to run a software interface, as for example, a plug-in or a device driver that facilitates interaction of the handset and base station with the PC soft-phone application. The base station connection to the personal computer uses a standard interface such as a universal serial bus (USB) connection, or a IEEE1394 connection commonly referred to as a Firewire (trade-mark) connection. One skilled in the art will appreciate that other standard and proprietary connections between the computer and base station as for example a wireless connection such as Bluetooth (trade-mark) can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention.  
         [0014]     The handset is used for the audio input and output to place or receive a call using the soft-phone application. This allows mobility of the user, allowing the user to move away from the computer during the telephone call or to place or receive a call via the soft-phone application from any location while the handset is within range of the base station. It also addresses the interface issues that are common with soft-phone applications by providing users with an interface that is common and comfortable for many users. The base station need not be the full sized base station common for cordless telephones, and instead can be a small “dongle” device. In embodiments with small dongle devices as base stations, the handset component can be powered either with disposable batteries or can be powered by a rechargeable battery that is recharged using an external power supply. In embodiments with a fuller sized base station, the handset can be powered using either an external power supply or with power drawn from the computer connection over an interface such as a USB connection.  
         [0015]     The handset of present invention incorporates a display that interacts with the soft-phone application to allow the user&#39;s contact list to be updated to maintain a current status and shown on the display. By using either alphabetic jumping, or simple directional inputs, the user can select a contact from the contact list, and initiate a call from the handset. Additionally, a call-display-like feature shows the user information about someone who is placing an inbound call. The handset can be equipped to answer or decline in-bound calls. By allowing the handset to interact with the soft-phone application to show the active contact list, to place calls to other users on the active contact list and to accept calls, the user is able to freely roam within the range of the cordless phone while maintaining a connection to the VoIP network. As a result, the user can make use of VoIP in place of communication over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) without many of the standard drawbacks of soft-phone applications.  
         [0016]     In another embodiment of the present invention, the base station includes a PSTN connection in addition to the computer connection. The PSTN connection allows the handset to be used for both standard telephony and Internet telephony uses. Each contact in the list can have a preferred connection method, so that long distance contacts can first be attempted using a VoIP connection, and then by a PSTN connection if the VoIP connection fails. Alternatively, a user in the local calling area can be contacted using the PSTN connection, unless the PSTN connection is presently in use, in which case the connection will be attempted over the VoIP network.  
         [0017]     The dual-line nature of the handset can allow further features to be enabled. Logic can be provided in the base station allowing incoming calls received from the VoIP network to be forwarded to a landline or cellular telephone number if the handset is turned off, or if the user has otherwise indicated that the forwarding should be enabled. This allows a user to accept VoIP calls and have them forwarded to a cellular number so that any long distance callers can make use of a VoIP connection and still connect to a PSTN phone number. Other advantages include the ability to forward calls to a number with an answering machine so that VoIP callers can leave a message for the user, and the ability to create a conference call bridging the VoIP and PSTN networks. The base station can be equipped with an answering machine, so that both the PSTN and VoIP callers can leave a message for the user at a single station.  
         [0018]     The use of call forwarding can also be enabled from PSTN to the VoIP network, so that all incoming PSTN calls are directed to a single VoIP account, allowing the user to travel, and receive calls to a home phone number on remote computer systems. Call forwarding can be enabled selectively based on the party dialing in, so that either call display or other caller identification information can be used to determine whether the call will be forwarded, and if it is forwarded, which number it is forwarded to.  
         [0019]     One skilled in the art will appreciate that the handset and base station communicate with the soft-phone application on the PC via a USB (or other) connection. The handset and base station are able to poll a soft-phone for both user status (online, busy, etc.) and contact lists. Both the status and the contact lists can be displayed on the handset. The handset can also be provided with the ability for a user to log out of the soft-phone application, and then log in as a separate user. For soft-phone applications that can be run as multiple instances on a single system, the handset can display the contacts of all the active users and optionally provides distinguishing marks to identify the different lists. In another embodiment, the different lists can be accessed separately. In a presently preferred embodiment, the telephone&#39;s graphic display is able to duplicate in whole or in part, the soft-phone interface on the PC. The handset is preferably able to extract only the audio data from the soft-phone and filter out other OS sounds or other application sounds.  
         [0020]     The handset can be modeled to an operating system as an HID (Human Interface Device) between the user and a soft-phone. A quick key on the computer keyboard can be used to toggle the audio output/input between handset and PC to provide the user with greater control of the soft-phone application. If the handset includes the ability to store a phone directory or phone book, it can be synchronized with the soft-phone or other applications on the computer to maintain a consistent calling experience for the user, and incoming caller information can be stored on the phone, as it can be with other standard telephones. One skilled in the art will appreciate that dial tones and busy signals can be simulated for use of the VoIP network, to provide users with a seamless experience.  
         [0021]     In one presently preferred embodiment, the product includes a cordless handset with screen (preferably a color screen), a base with a connection (such as a USB connection), and optionally a telephone line interface. The handset and base interact with software running on a PC such as a soft-phone application or a soft-phone application plugin. Examples of such soft-phone applications include Microsoft Messenger (trade-mark), Yahoo! Messenger (trade-mark) and Skype (trade-mark). Audio signals, “buddy list” updates, status and control signals are sent between the PC and the base station/dongle over the USB connection. The base station/dongle formats the appropriate information and sends it wirelessly to the handset for processing and display. Thus, the user is able to roam within the wireless range of the handset while maintaining the connection to the soft-phone application.  
     
    
       [0022]     Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.  
         [0023]     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:  
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0024]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of an embodiment of a handset and base station of the present invention;  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram of components in a preferred embodiment of an internet interface device of the present invention;  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a functional block diagram illustration components in a USB base station of the present invention;  
         [0027]      FIG. 4  is a functional block diagram illustrating the architecture of a handset of the present invention;  
         [0028]      FIG. 5  is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of a USB base station of the present invention;  
         [0029]      FIG. 6  is an elevation view of a preferred embodiment of a handset of the present invention;  
         [0030]      FIG. 7  is a schematic for components in a preferred embodiment of a USB base station of the present invention; and  
         [0031]      FIG. 8  is a schematic for components in a preferred embodiment of a handset constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0032]     The preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings.  FIG. 1  shows a functional block diagram of elements of the invention including a wireless handset  100  cradled in a recharge station  102  where the wireless handset can be placed when not in use to recharge the batteries of the wireless handset. The wireless handset communicates with base station  104  over a wireless communications channel  106  using standard wireless connections in the 900 MHz, 2.4 or 5.8 Ghz bands using a suitable digital encoding protocol, for example, the Worldwide Digital Cordless Telecommunications (WDCT) or Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephone (DECT) standards for wireless telephone handset communications. The communications between the handset and base station over the wireless channel is bidirectional and includes both audio signaling as well as control and supervisory signaling to facilitate exchange of call control information and supervisory signalling between the handset and base station as well as audio communications delivered to and received from the user of the wireless handset  100 . The base station  104  is coupled to an internet interface device  108  which is shown in the preferred embodiment as a separate personal computer (PC) computer having an output display  110 , for example, a monitor and input devices  112  such as a keyboard. Communication between the base station  104  and the internet interface device  108  is effected by a wireline coupling  114  which is preferably over a standard interface such as a universal serial bus (USB) connection or an IEEE1394 connection which facilitates exchange of call control and supervision signaling between the handset and the base station and the internet interface device  108 . In a preferred embodiment, the wireline coupling provides power to the base station  104  so a separate power supply or battery for the base station is not required. The internet interface device  108  provides a computing platform to operate a VoIP client to facilitate and effect VoIP communication over the intemet  116 . The internet interface device VoIP client can take one of several forms depending on the nature of the VoIP service provider  117  providing the VoIP service to the user of handset  100 . Common VoIP services that are available which provide client software to operate on personal computers include Skype (trade-mark), MSN Messenger (trade-mark) and numerous others.  
         [0033]     Wireless handset  100  provides a keypad  118  which includes a supervisory function keys as for example power on and off buttons, menu and select buttons as well as the dial number input buttons  0  through  9 , octothorp and asterisk common to dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) touch tone telephones. In this manner a conventional handset is presented to a user to initiate and receive VoIP calls over the internet. The wireless handset also includes a graphical display  120  which provides the user with an output that can be configured and changed over time by the applications running on the wireless handset  100  under software control. For example, the display  120  may display a buddy list of Skype (trademark) users and their current status using a graphical display that corresponds to the buddy list that conventionally appears on the output display  110  of the personal computer when a user is operating a Skype (trademark) softphone client on the PC. The handset also includes a microphone  122  and earpiece  124  to allow the user to use the wireless handset in a conventional manner familiar to a telephone user.  
         [0034]      FIG. 2  shows a functional block diagram of components of a preferred embodiment of a software application running on the intemet interface device  108 , which is embodied as a personal computer (PC). The PC includes a USB interface  150  which is used to supply power to and communicate over USB wireline coupling  114  of  FIG. 1 . The PC runs an operation system program, such as a version of the Windows (trade-mark) operating system provided by Microsoft (trademark), for example, Windows 2000 (trademark) or Windows XP (trademark). The operating system provides a framework to establish and operate software providing driver functionality to interact with the USB interface  150  including a human interface device driver (HID) 152  as well as bidirectional USB audio driver  154 . A USB bridge application  156  controls the USB interface  150  interaction with one or more VoIP soft clients  158  where Skype (trademark), Yahoo Messenger (trademark) and MS Messenger (trademark) are shown by way of example in the figure. The softphone clients  158  control and facilitate communication over the internet  116  with a VoIP service provider  117  to initiate and receive messages or calls to and from other users of the VoIP service corresponding to the selected softphone client operating on the PC internet interface device.  
         [0035]      FIG. 3  shows a functional block diagram of components of a software application operable on a computer processor provided in base station  104  to control and support the functionality of the base station in effecting communications between the internet interface device  108  and the wireless handset  100 . The base station runs a call control task  170  that controls and coordinates the operation of the base station elements. A series of radio frequency (RF) functions  172 ,  174  and  176  support the particular protocol driver mechanism and RF interface required by the selected wireless media that is the wireless channel  106 , used for communications between the base and the handset. In the specific embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the European DECT standard is shown as implemented by means of a DECT protocol software function or application  172 , a DECT RF software function or driver  174  and a DECT RF interface device  176 . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other wireless protocols can be implemented by providing suitable functionality in a comparable application and interface device as, for example, a digital spread spectrum (DSS) application and interface operable on a 900 MHz or 2.4 or 5.8 GHz communications channel media. A user interface task  178  communicates with the call control task to provide user functionality at the base  104 . For example, the base preferably includes a page switch  180  which can be manipulated by user to cause the handset to emit an audible signal to allow the handset to be located. The page switch is monitored by a switch driver application  182  to relay the page switch position to the user interface task  178 . Similarly, the base preferably includes an in-use indicator  184  in the form of a light emitting diode (LED) which the call control task  170  operates to indicate visually on the base whether the handset is in use or not. A wireline interface  186  is provided to connect to the wireline coupling  114  connecting the base to the internet interface device.  
         [0036]     In the preferred embodiment, the wireline interface  186  is a universal serial bus (USB) interface as that permits the base to receive power from the intemet interface device  108  as well as effect bidirectional communications between the internet interface device and the base of both the audio signaling that allows user communication using the VoIP protocol over the internet as well as facilitate handling of call control signaling such as off hook, on hook and ring tone, dial tone functionality or exchange of buddy list updates with the soft phone client application running on the intemet interface device. The wireline interface  186  is controlled by handler and driver applications  188  which are tailored to and written for the specific media of the wireline coupling which extends between the base and the internet interface device. In the specific embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , USB drivers and command handlers are provided to control the behavior of the USB type or wireline interface  186 .  
         [0037]      FIG. 4  shows a functional block diagram illustrating the architecture of a handset of the present invention including function blocks for the applications running on a computer system of the wireless handset  100 . The handset has a call control task  200  that coordinates the user manipulation of the handset as well as the communications between the base and handset over the wireless channel  106  as depicted in  FIG. 1 . The handset includes a user interface task  202  that coordinates the information provided to the user on the handset graphical display  120  which is a liquid crystal display (LCD) by communication between the user interface task and the LCD driver. User manipulation of the handset keypad  118  is communicated with user interface task by means of associated keypad driver. In this manner user input to the handset and user output from the handset on the keypad and LCD is coordinated at the handset. The handset is powered by a battery in the preferred embodiment and a power control device  204  provides the necessary electrical coupling between the recharge station  102  and the batteries held within the handset itself. To control changing of the batteries and provide an indication of the charge level of the batteries to the user, a power management task  206  is preferably included as a software application on the handset. Audio communication to the microphone and earpiece of the handset is controlled by a general digital signal processing driver (GDSP)  208  which controls and supports the audio signaling over the handset. The RF signaling between the base and handset is supported by series of RF applications  210 ,  212  and  214 . In the particular embodiments shown in  FIG. 4 , the DECT protocol is implemented by means of a DECT protocol application  210  a DECT RF driver application  212  which controls signaling over the DECT RF interface  214 .  
         [0038]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of an embodiment of the base  104 . The base includes antenna equipment to support communications over the wireless channel  106  as well as a wireline connector  186  to interface with the wireline coupling  114 . Indicator lights such as the in use light  184  and base power indicator  220  are preferably provided on the base station.  
         [0039]      FIG. 6  shows an elevation view of a preferred embodiment of a wireless handset  100  constructed in accordance with the principals of the invention. The handset includes an antenna to couple to wireless channel  106  which allows audio and control information to be exchanged between the handset and base station  104 . The graphic display  120  includes a visual indication of the status of the buddy list or other users of the VoIP application that the user is running. For example, the user handset is shown as in the online state in the display and an example buddy “Green (away)” is shown in the display area of  120 . As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the graphical display  120  provides a general color display device which is configurable to show graphical elements or text characters in whatever manner desired by the application developers of the VoIP services and the interface functionality of the handset  100 . Therefore, the example discussed here is merely representative of one form of information that is capable of display on the graphical display  120  of the handset.  
         [0040]      FIG. 7  is a functional block diagram of the hardware elements included in the preferred embodiment of the base station. The base station has a base band processor  192  computing device and memory device  194  to store the software applications that control the base as described more fully with reference to  FIG. 3 . The processor  192  has outputs to activate the in use LED  184  and power LED  190  as well as receive input from the page switch  180 . The processor communicates with the RF interface module  176  and controls the operation of the RF interface using the protocol driver and intemet interface applications  172 ,  174  and  176  referred to in the discussion made with reference to  FIG. 3 . An antenna  194  couples the RF interface module to the wireless channel  106 . A USB interface  186  has a USB controller  186  in communication with processor  192  to exchange control and communications signaling between the processor and the USB interface. The USB controller  195  passes the signaling to a filter protection device  196  which prevents external impulses such as power spikes, static electricity and the like from interfering with or destroying the integrated circuit elements of the base. A connector  197  completes a connection between the base and the wireline coupling  114  referred to in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0041]     A PSTN interface  220  includes a PSTN controller  222 , in communication with processor  192 . PSTN controller provides the data terminal equipment (DTE) to couple the base to the public switched telephone network (PSTN)  101 . The PSTN controller is coupled to the public switched telephone network  101  through a filter protector  224  which insulates the base device from voltage spikes or static electricity that may be present on the PSTN connector  226 .  
         [0042]      FIG. 8  shows a functional block diagram of the components of the preferred embodiment of a handset constructed in accordance with the principals of the invention. The handset includes a base band processor  250  to provide a computing platform to execute the applications and functions described more fully with reference to  FIG. 4 . Memory device  252  such as an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) is coupled to processor  250  and is used to store the software that operates the wireless handset. An RF interface module  214  is connected to the processor  250  and a handset antenna  254  to facilitate communication between the handset and the base over wireless channel  106 . When the handset is positioned in the recharge station  102  a connection is established from the recharge station to the changing control centre  256  which recharges the handset battery  258  under control from the processor  250 . Optionally the keypad  118  may be provided with a keypad backlight  258  which enables use of the handset keypad in darkened environments. Further, the handset may be provided with a hands free speaker  260  and a headset connector  262  to allow input and output of audio from the handset through additional elements apart from the ear piece  124  and microphone  122  conventionally provide on the handset.  
         [0043]     The above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto.