Patent ID: 7542460

Claim:
An IP phone device comprising: an NCU connected to a phone network; a handset that is used for making phone calls with a remote phone device through the NCU and the phone network while exchanging audio signals; an audio interface responsive to an Internet telephony execution instruction, for inputting and outputting the audio signals for the phone calls to and from a remote IP phone device through Internet via a computer; call-start instruction input means for inputting a call-start instruction for Internet telephony in accordance with user's actions; path switching means for switching a path from the NCU to the audio interface to output an audio signal input through the handset and to input an audio signal output from the handset through the audio interface when the call-start instruction for Internet telephony is input from the call-start instruction input means; and computer control means for launching Internet telephony application software and outputting control commands to a computer for executing Internet telephony to the computer from the audio interface when the call-start instruction for Internet telephony is input from the call-start instruction input means, the control commands being output in the form of an audio signal, the computer executing transmission/reception of the audio signals to and from the remote IP phone device; the computer control means further outputting a first command in the form of an audio signal to the computer to check if the Internet telephony application software has been launched, the computer control means outputting a second command in the form of an audio signal to the computer to launch the Internet telephony application software unless the Internet telephony application software has been launched.