Abstract:
An audio and video communication system, including a handset including a handset receiver and an audio output component, for receiving audio data via the handset receiver and for playing the received audio data on the handset audio output component, a display device, not physically connected to the handset, including a display receiver and a display screen, for receiving video data via the display receiver and for displaying the received video data on the display screen, and a telephony service, communicatively coupled with the handset and with the display, that receives audio and video data from a transmitter computer during a communication session, and transmits the audio data to the handset and the video data to the display device.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/345,318, entitled DECENTRALIZED SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VOICE AND VIDEO SESSIONS, filed on May 17, 2010 by inventor Eyal Bychkov. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to Voice and Video conversations Over IP, and more particularly to a method and system for making such communications using a decentralized architecture. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     There are numerous devices and applications which are based on transferring Voice and/or Video over IP (Internet Protocol). These include having VoIP clients on a PC, or installed on any other communication device, such as a mobile phone. There are also dedicated Wi-Fi telephones which support VoIP applications; VoIP telephones can be both wired, such as the Cisco CP-7941G, or wireless, such as the Polycom SPECTRALINK® 8002 2200-37010-020 or Linksys WIP310-G1. 
     Client devices for making and receiving voice and video calls over the IP network with the standard functionality of most “original” telephones are also referred to as “softphones”. Softphones usually allow integration with IP phones and USB phones instead of utilizing a computer&#39;s microphone and speakers (or headset). Often a softphone is designed to behave like a traditional telephone, sometimes appearing as an image of a phone, with a display panel and buttons with which the user can interact. 
     A typical application of a softphone is to make calls via an Internet telephony service provider to other softphones or to telephones. Popular Internet telephony service providers include SKYPE®, GOOGLE TALK™, and VONAGE®, which have their own softphones that a user may install on his computer or the like. Most service providers use a communication protocol called SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), whereas SKYPE® has a closed proprietary system. In order to make a voice call over the internet, one should have any computing device with an audio input (e.g. microphone) and output means (e.g. a speaker or headset), Internet connectivity such as DSL, Wi-Fi, cable or LAN, and an account with an Internet telephony service provider or IP PBX. 
     Such prior art devices establish a single connection to the Internet telephony service provider. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram of the VoIP system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a simplified block diagram of the Display, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a simplified block diagram of the Handset, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a simplified flowchart of a method for conducting a VoIP conversation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 5  is a simplified block diagram of the VoIP system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Aspects of the present invention relate generally to Voice and Video over IP. In particular, aspects of the present invention relate to a system and method for communication where there is more than one terminal for conducting and controlling the VoIP sessions. 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 1 , which is a simplified block diagram of the system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system includes a display  110  (referred to hereinafter as the Display) and a handset  120  (referred to hereinafter as the Handset). The Display may be inter alia a PC display, an LCD screen, a Plasma Display Panel, an LED panel, a Digital Picture Frame (DPF) device and any other display or device having a display. The Handset is typically a mobile electronic device, which communicates with the Display via local communication means. The local communication may be inter alia BLUETOOTH®, Infra-Red (IR), Wi-Fi or any other Near Field Communication means. Both Display  110  and Handset  120  are capable of communicating with Internet Telephony Service Provider  130  via the internet. Display  110  may include a modem and processing means (such as a PC or laptop computer which includes both the display and the CPU and modem) or may be connected to a separate processing unit and modem  140 . Display  110  may also include or be connected to a processing unit which in turn is connected wirelessly to a router and a modem, for connecting to the internet. Handset  120  may be connected wirelessly to a router which is connected to the internet, or may be connected to the internet via any network (3G, GPRS, etc.) using any known in the art standard (e.g. WAP). According to another embodiment of the present invention, Handset  120  may even be connected to the internet via local connection to Display  110 , which is connected to the internet in any of a few ways, as described hereinabove. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, a softphone application is installed and operates on both Display  110  and Handset  120 , which are synced so as to provide a seamless experience to the user. A typical scenario includes a user having the Handset  120  close to him, possibly in his hands, whereas Display  110  is a few meters away, such as when Display  110  is an LCD display in the living room. Therefore such a scenario or similar scenarios would benefit from a decentralized system and method for providing Voice over IP or Voice and Video over IP sessions. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the controlling of such VoIP sessions is done from Handset  120 ; e.g. initiating calls to contacts, answering calls, ending calls, etc. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, both Display  110  and Handset  120  have audio and video capabilities, as shown in Table 1 below. Display  110  includes audio input means (e.g. built-in microphone, or such that is connected to the processing unit and modem  140 ), audio output (speakers), video input (built-in camera or such that is connected to the processing unit and modem  140 ) and video output (the display). Handset  120  includes audio input means (microphone), audio output means (earpiece and/or speakers and or headsets), and video output means (display) and according to an embodiment of the present invention may also include video input means (built-in or attachable camera). 
     
       
         
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Display 110 
                 Handset 120 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Audio input 
                 Built-in microphone or 
                 Built-in microphone 
               
               
                   
                 microphone attached to 
               
               
                   
                 processing unit and modem 140 
               
               
                 Audio output 
                 Speakers 
                 earpiece and/or speakers 
               
               
                   
                   
                 and or headsets 
               
               
                 Video input 
                 Built-in camera or attached to 
                 Built-in or attachable 
               
               
                   
                 processing unit and modem 140 
                 camera 
               
               
                 Video output 
                 Display 
                 Display 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 2 , which is a simplified block diagram of Display  110 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. Display  110  includes display module  111 , which includes any display technology, such as LCD, Plasma, LED, OLED, Bi-Stable or any other. for example, for an LCD module, display module  111  typically includes LCD Controller, LCD driver and LCD glass. Display  110  also includes local wireless module  112  for communicating with Handset  120 . Display  110  further includes speaker or speakers  113  and power module  114 , which may consist of a power outlet and/or optionally battery  117 . Display  110  optionally includes processing unit and modem  140 , which may alternatively be connected externally to Display  110 . Display  110  optionally includes camera module  116 , which functions as video input to Display  110 . Display  110  may optionally also include a microphone  118 , which serves as audio input. Microphone may also be an external component. Display  110  also includes UI (user-interface) means  119  for operating Display  110 . UI means  119  may be keypad, button/s, touchscreen, or any other UI method known in the art. 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 3 , which is a simplified block diagram of Handset  120 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. Handset  120  includes display module  121 , which includes any display technology used for small mobile devices, such as LCD, LED, OLED, Bi-Stable or any other. Handset  120  also includes local wireless module  122  for communicating with Display  110 . Said module  122  may be Bluetooth, IR, Wi-Fi, NFC or any wireless module. Handset  120  further includes AUDIO OUTPUT MEANS  123 , which may include earpiece and/or speakers and or headsets. Handset  120  also includes power module  114 , which typically consists of a power outlet and battery  127 . Handset  120  optionally includes processing unit and baseband  125 , in which case Handset  120  serves as a mobile communication device, such as a mobile cellular phone. If Handset  120  is a mobile cellular phone, it may include further components known in the art, such as Antenna. Handset  120  optionally includes camera module  126 , which functions as video input to Handset  120 . Handset  120  also includes a microphone  128 , which serves as audio input. Handset  120  also includes UI (user-interface) means  129  for operating Handset  120 . UI means  129  may be keypad, button/s, touchscreen, or any other UI method known in the art. 
     According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, since Handset  120  is typically in great vicinity to the user, it is used as the audio input of a conversation. The audio out may be either the audio output means of Display  110  or that of Handset  120 ; video output is preferably the display of Display  110 , and video input may be either video input means of Display  110  or Handset  120 . 
     According to another embodiment of the present invention, audio and video input and output means may be used concurrently. E.g., both audio output of Display  110  and that of Handset  120  may play the audio of the active conversation. 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 4 , which is a simplified flowchart of a method for conducting a VoIP conversation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. At step  410 , Display  110  and Handset  120  of user are in close proximity and are paired. Such pairing may be pairing procedure known in the art, for example Bluetooth pairing. In addition, said pairing may be initiated manually by user, via Handset  120 . At step  420 , user initiates a VoIP session through Handset  120 , which is typically carried by hand. VoIP session may be, for example, a video call. Handset  110  connects to internet telephony service provider  130 , to perform the conversation. 
     Step  430  occurs concurrently or immediately follows step  420 . At step  430 , a second connection is established between internet telephony service provider  130  and Display  110 . According to an embodiment of present invention, said second connection is initiated by Display  110 , which contacts internet telephony service provider  130  and signal that it should join initiated or ongoing session between internet telephony service provider  130  and Handset  110 . Display  110  may transfer any detail about Handset and/or session so that internet telephony service provider  130  identifies session and can transfer the session or parts of it (e.g. video) to Display  110 . According to another embodiment of the present invention, Handset  120  signals to internet telephony service provider  130  that it is paired to Display  120 , and therefore the initiated VoIP session should be shared with Display  110 . 
     Said second connection between Display  110  and internet telephony service provider  130  is typically established for video purposes, whereas according to an embodiment of the present invention, video of said VoIP session is transferred between internet telephony service provider  130  and Display  110 , and audio is transferred between internet telephony service provider  130  and both Handset  120  and Display  110 . 
     Display  110  typically has a larger display than Handset  120 , more convenient for user viewing, and possibly better speakers, and in addition connection between Display  110  and internet telephony service provider  130  is of higher band width, as compared to connection between Handset  120  and internet telephony service provider  130 . Therefore, at step  440 , the video part of the VoIP session, which is more band-width consuming, is transferred between Display  110  and internet telephony service provider  130 , and the audio part is transferred between internet telephony service provider  130  and both Display  110  and Handset  120 . Handset  110  is especially used for audio input of the VoIP session, whereas the audio output may be played through audio output means of Handset  110 , Display  120 , or both. At step  450 , user terminates VoIP session via Handset  120 . 
     According to an aspect of the current invention, even though the VoIP session is divided between two connections, the session is seamless and the user carries out the conversation as if it were a single connection. Accordingly, there is synchronization between Display  110  and Handset  120 . Said synchronization is used in diminishing latencies between audio and video, and between Display  110  and Handset  120 . The video received and displayed on Display  110  is synchronized with the audio received and played on either speaker/s  113  of Display  110  or audio output means  123  of Handset  120 . Synchronization between Display  110  and Handset  120  is performed either via internet telephony service provider  130  or directly. In a first embodiment of the present invention, a time stamp is sent from both Display  110  and Handset  120  to internet telephony service provider  130 . The internet telephony service provider  130  in turn alters transmission time of data, audio and/or video, to Display  110  and Handset  120 . According to a second embodiment of the present invention, Display  110  and Handset  120  may have buffers which allow them to synchronize between Display  110  and Handset  120 , by delaying playing/sending of data to internet telephony service provider  130 . 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, Handset  120  is also used to control other elements in Display  110 , using local communication channel, which is established by local wireless modules  112  and  122 . For example, Handset  120  may act as a remote control to Display  110 . 
     According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the system includes multiple Displays, similar to Display  110 . Handset  120  communicates with all Displays, and may control a session which is divided between Handset  120  and a first Display  120  and upon manual selection by the user, or automatically, session may be handed-over to be divided between Handset  120  and second Display  110 . Hand-over between first Display  110  and second Display  110  is initiated manually by user, who may be able to see which other Displays are in his vicinity. In another embodiment of the present invention, the session may be handed over automatically, possibly when user moves from first location to second location, and/or when local communication between Handset  120  and said second Display  110  is typically of better quality than that between Handset  120  and said first Display  110 . Such handover mechanisms are described in the art, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,834,192 to Watanabe et al., which describes handover of communications in a Bluetooth, or other, radio communication system, or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/680,911 to Jougit, describing a method and system for a distributed Bluetooth host architecture. 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 5 , which is a simplified block diagram of the system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Handset  120  may be paired with first Display  510  or second Display  520 , which may be any Display  110 , as described above.