KR100469223B1 - Computer Network Telephone System - Google Patents

Abstract

Terminals in the computer network are connected through a server to transmit data including at least voice data through the computer network. The server is provided with a database for storing call information used for connection with the called terminal. When the source terminal makes a call to the called terminal, the server of the computer network retrieves the connection address of the called terminal from the database. Thereafter, the server calls the called terminal and performs the connection process between the server of the computer network and the called terminal.

Description

Computer Network Telephone System

The present invention relates to a telephone system suitable for use as an Internet telephone for exchanging voice data via the Internet, a worldwide computer network system.

The Internet is a global computer network system that connects computer networks of corporations and universities across borders. Increasingly, services using the Internet such as e-mail services, file transfer services, and information retrieval services are becoming more diverse.

1 schematically illustrates a general aspect of the Internet. In Fig. 1, each of the computer networks NET101, NET102, NET103, ... has a plurality of terminals T connected to each other by a local area network (LAN) in the form of Ethernet or token ring. .

These computer networks (NET101, NET102, NET103, ...) are connected to each other via routers (R101, R102, R103, ...), which route data from one computer network to another depending on the destination of the data. send.

Computer networks NET101, NET102, NET103, ... connected via routers R101, R102, R103, ... form a computer network system. Such computer network systems are called the Internet. The Internet enables data exchange between computer networks NET101, NET102, NET103,...

The Internet uses the Internet Protocol (IP) as a protocol of its network layer. IP assigns an IP address to each terminal to identify the called terminal of the data. Each IP address consists of four numbers, which can be represented as 8-bit decimal numbers, for example, 43.3.25.246.

As the Internet expands, the number of IP addresses may become insufficient. In some networks where multiple terminals are registered but only a small number of terminals are connected at the same time, for example by using a server on that network, the IP currently available to minimize the number of IP addresses used. It is possible to assign the address only to the terminals to which it is actually connected. In this way, the network does not need to prepare as many IP addresses as the corresponding terminals, and can effectively use a limited number of IP addresses.

The Internet uses Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) as its transport layer protocols. TCP performs communication after performing a connection type transmission connection, and processes packet sequential control, retransmission, flow control, and traffic control. UDP is a connectionless protocol used instead of TCP in networks that require real-time transmission. In digital voice transmission, for example, retransmission is not required even when part of a packet is dropped, but voice data is transmitted continuously. For such voice transmission, UDP is used.

Thus, the Internet basically uses the TCP / IP protocol. That is, an IP address is assigned to a terminal of a computer network to identify an individual terminal, and a packet is transmitted by TCP or UDP.

However, personal computers are not always connected by LAN and may not have an IP address. Therefore, some individuals who participate in the Internet use Internet service providers. Through an Internet service provider, a personal computer can be connected to a computer network and participate in the Internet via a telephone line, for example, by Point to Point Protocol (PPP) or Serial Line IP (SLIP).

2 shows a configuration of an internet service provider. The computer network NET151 of the Internet service provider includes a server S151 and a router R151. The server S151 is connected to the public telephone line network via modems M151, M152, M153, ....

The terminals T151, T152, T153, ... are terminals of individuals who individually participate in the Internet. The terminals T151, T152, T153, ... are connected to the public telephone line network TEL151 via a modem (not shown). The individual terminals T151, T152, T153, ... may be personal computers having serial ports.

In order to participate in the Internet through an Internet service provider, most users contract with the Internet service provider in advance. When a contract is signed between the user and the Internet service provider, an account code and password are sent to the user.

When an individual joins the Internet from one of the terminals T151, T152, T153, ..., the user calls the Internet service provider and calls the server S151 of the provider's computer network NET151. Correspondingly, the server S151 requires input of a customer code and a password to confirm whether the user is a contractor. When the server S151 confirms that the entered customer code and password are those of the contractor, the server S151 searches for available IP addresses. If there is an available IP address, it is temporarily assigned to the terminals T151, T152, T153,... Thus, the terminal obtained the temporary IP address can be connected to the Internet.

In this example, the terminals are connected by PPP using a telephone line. However, an Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) may be used instead. The ISDN 64 is composed of three channels including two B channels of 64 kbps and one D channel of 16 kbps. When using ISDN, it can be used as a line of 64 kbps by sending an IP packet on the B channel.

Internet telephones for making telephone calls using the Internet are currently under development. Since the Internet is basically free, the fee you pay for making an Internet phone call over the Internet is equivalent to the contract fee with the Internet service provider, the call fee between the user and the Internet service provider, or the ISDN fee. do. Therefore, the user can use long distance call and international call very economically.

However, the most serious problem with the Internet phone is that it is impossible to call a terminal of a user who personally participates in the Internet.

As explained above, the Internet uses an IP address to indicate the called terminal. Thus, terminals of users participating in the Internet by PPP under a contractual relationship with an Internet service provider are assigned temporary IP addresses only when they require an actual connection, and they are not always connected. Therefore, if the terminal to be PPP-connected via the Internet service provider is not currently PPP-connected, the terminal cannot be connected to another terminal for communication.

On the other hand, most LAN terminals installed in corporations and universities are assigned their own IP addresses and can always communicate in real time. However, some LANs temporarily assign an available IP address (DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)) to a actually connected terminal using a server for allocating the IP address to the network in order to minimize the IP address. In that case, the LAN terminal of the enterprise or university can also be certainly not identified and cannot be accessed.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a telephone system which allows a call to a PPP-connected called terminal by accessing a called terminal from an Internet telephone to make a call using the Internet, which is a computer network.

According to the present invention, there is provided a computer network having at least one server that can be connected to a plurality of terminal apparatuses over a telephone line for transmitting data including at least voice data, and a server for accumulating call information of individual terminal apparatuses. A computer network telephone system is provided that includes a database connected to the system. When the first terminal device connected to the server requests a connection with a second terminal disconnected from the server, the server retrieves the call information of the second terminal stored in the database and retrieves the obtained call information of the second terminal. Call the second terminal, and enable communication between the first terminal and the second terminal.

The server is connected with a database that stores information about individual terminals to be connected to each terminal, and finds the called terminal from the database. When the source terminal makes a call to the called terminal, the server of the computer network retrieves the called terminal from the database, then calls the called terminal, and makes a connection between the server of the computer network and the called terminal. As a result, the called terminal connected by PPP or the like can be called and set to make a call.

The present invention relates to an Internet telephone capable of transmitting voice data via the Internet, and is particularly suitable for using an Internet telephone connected by PPP through a public telephone telephone network.

3 shows an Internet telephone system to which the present invention can be applied. In Fig. 3, computer network NET1 is, for example, a computer network in which an Internet service provider is prepared. The computer network NET1 includes a server S1 and a router R1.

The server S1 is connected to the public telephone line network TEL1 via modems M1, M2, M3, .... Currently, data can be transmitted at a speed of 28.8 kbps through the public switched telephone network TEL1 by using a high speed modem.

The computer network NET1 is connected to other computer networks constituting the Internet via the router R1. The router R1 transmits the data on the computer network to another computer network including the called terminal.

The terminals T1, T2, T3, ... are personal terminals which individually participate in the Internet. The personal terminals T1, T2, T3, ... are preferably personal computers provided with an Internet telephone program or a dedicated Internet telephone. A dedicated internet telephone is a terminal dedicated to an internet telephone which facilitates a telephone call using the internet as described below.

The server S1 is configured with a database DB1. As shown in Fig. 4, database DB1 stores "terminal name", "Internet name", "connection type", "public telephone number for PPP", "user name" and other information. The database DB1 will be organized using information obtained from the contents of the contract entered into between the Internet service provider and the user. If the connection type is PPP, the database DB1 includes the PPP telephone number of the user who has contracted with the Internet service provider by the PPP connection.

In the above description, the terminals T1, T2, T3, ... are connected to the server S1 by PPP via a public telephone network, but the terminals are connected via a digital network such as ISDN.

Hereinafter, the telephone call control in the telephone system to which the present invention is applied will be described. It is assumed here that the telephone call from the terminal T1 to the terminal T2 is made as shown in FIG. The Internet requires an IP address to specify the called terminal. In this case, there is a possibility that the destination terminal T2 to be connected by PPP is not currently connected to the computer network NET1. Therefore, if the terminating terminal T2 is not connected to the computer network NET1, it cannot be accessed using the IP address. At this time, the database DB1 is used.

5 is a flowchart showing an access process using the database DB1. First, the source terminal T1 calls the computer network NET1 of the Internet service provider to call the server S1 of the computer network NET1. Correspondingly, server S1 requests terminal T1 to enter its customer code and password to ascertain whether source terminal T1 is a contractor of the Internet service provider. The user of the source terminal T1 responds to the request by entering its customer code and password. When the server S1 confirms that the entered customer code and password belong to the subscriber, the server assigns a temporary IP address to the terminal T1. Therefore, the PPP connection with the terminal T1 is started (step ST1).

Thereafter, the terminal T1 designates the desired destination side address (for example, the terminal T2) (step ST2).

Correspondingly, the server S1 searches the database DB1 to find information about the terminal T2 corresponding to the requested destination address. The telephone number of the PPP connection terminal T2 can be known from the information in the database DB1 (step ST3).

Subsequently, the server S1 determines the IP address in order to designate the terminating terminal T2 in the server, prepares for PPP connection, and notifies the source terminal T1 of the IP address of the terminating terminal (step ST4). ).

Thereafter, the server S1 calls the terminal T2 by dialing the telephone number of the terminal T2 learned from the database DB1. When the telephone line connection with the called terminal T2 is confirmed, the server S1 approves the IP address and assigns it to the called terminal (step ST5).

Therefore, the PPP connection is started (step ST6). As a result, voice data is exchanged for the call between the terminal T1 and the terminal T2 (step ST7). Voice data is transmitted in compressed form. In order to exchange voice data, UDP is used as a protocol of the transmission layer.

At the end of the call, all connections including the PPP connection and the telephone line connection between the terminal T1 and the server S1 and the PPP connection and the telephone line connection between the terminal T2 and the server S1 are cut off ( Step ST8).

In the above example, the IP address of the terminal T2 is determined before the call of the terminal T2 is completed. However, the IP address of the terminal T2 may be determined after the call of the terminal T2 is completed. . If necessary, it is also possible to notify the source terminal T1 of the assigned IP address. If the source terminal is notified about the IP address at the time when the server determines the IP address of the called terminal, the source terminal prepares a call with the called terminal, so that the terminals can proceed smoothly to the call step.

In this manner, the database DB1 is configured to store information on the PPP connection telephone number, and when the terminating terminal is a PPP connected terminal (for example, T2), the terminating terminal is accessed through the telephone number obtained from the database DB1. Thereafter, the called terminal T2 is connected to the server S1 by PPP. Thus, even when the called terminal is a PPP connected terminal, the called terminal can be called for a call.

Invoke server S1 from the source terminal T1 to establish a PPP connection between the source terminal T1 and the server S1, and also call the terminating terminal T2 from the server S1 to call the terminating terminal T2 and the server. By establishing a PPP connection between (S1), the terminal T1 and the terminal T2 can be set to make a call. However, due to the time taken to confirm the contract and perform other processing, several minutes may elapse to complete the connection. Therefore, the user must wait online for a relatively long time until the terminal is actually connected to the called terminal.

As a solution, first, the source terminal T1 and the server S1 are connected at the start of a call, and then the terminal is taken offline until some processing for the connection between the terminal T1 and the terminating terminal T2 is performed. In order to notify the terminal T1 of the IP address, the terminal T1 is disconnected from the server S1. In this case, the IP address to be allocated to the source terminal T1 can be reserved. Therefore, when the connection processing between the server S1 and the terminating terminal T2 proceeds to the PPP connection, the server S1 is connected to the source terminal T1. Call and reconnect to the terminal T1 using the reserved IP address. Using this method, the source terminal can avoid waiting for the connection time for the actual call.

In addition to the functions described above, if the called party does not respond, the server notifies the source terminal of such a situation. This feature increases the convenience of the system by preventing users from waiting online for long periods of time without being connected.

The user of the source terminal also maintains a PPP connection between the source terminal and the server until the connection with the called terminal is established, and can wait while doing its work before the connection is completed. This is particularly effective if the terminal is a multi-task personal computer or workstation. This function may be made more convenient by ringing or visually indicating that the connection with the called terminal is completed when the connection with the called terminal is established.

How to display the called terminal is an important factor in these Internet phones. In the case of a regular phone, only a number consisting of numbers is used to designate the called terminal. However, the string of numbers is difficult to remember. In the Internet, data is transmitted by designating four IP addresses using three numbers. Also, the IP address is inconvenient for the average user to call the called terminal using it. Moreover, since the IP address is not certainly assigned to the terminal of the PPP connection, the called terminal cannot be identified by the IP address.

In order to solve this problem, the called terminal is called through an Internet telephone using a mail address composed of a customer name and a domain name. The mail address has the form "username@domain1.domain2. ..." where "username" is the user's customer name and "domain1.domain2. ..." is the domain name (organization name) to which the user belongs. )to be. Multiple domain names can be joined by ".". "@" Is a character for terminating customer names and domain names with punctuation.

The mail address is easier to store than the IP address. However, the mail address does not identify the terminal itself but identifies the individual. Therefore, it is considered that the mail address is not suitable for the Internet telephone used by the terminal call.

In order to solve such a problem, an appropriate name is assigned to each terminal, and the terminal name is used to access one terminal from another terminal. Each terminal name exclusively defines each terminal, which is chosen to use the same name for other terminals in the same domain. Since the terminal name can be registered in the server together with the user's information such as the called party's telephone number, the terminal name can be used for connection of an Internet telephone. In this manner, even when making a PPP connection between the server and the called terminal, the connection can be made using only the terminal name regardless of the IP address.

The domain name and the terminal name are general methods of expressing the terminal name on the Internet as described above with reference to the mail address, and can be connected by ".", For example, "machine.domain1.domain2 ....". It can also be used to identify a communication terminal of an Internet phone. However, if such a connection is used in this form to identify the Internet terminal, it is not always easy to use it because of the limited number of characters in the terminal name or for other reasons.

In order to solve this problem, this example is configured to preferentially select a name that is easy to be stored without limiting the number of characters as the Internet telephone terminal name.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 4, the present invention utilizes a database DB1. The list of databases DB1 includes "terminal name", "Internet name" and others. Database DB1 has another list of connection types indicating PPP connection or LAN connection. If the connection type is PPP, there is an additional list of access phone numbers. Therefore, by selecting a display mode that is easy for a user to use, among the " terminal name " and " Internet name ", a desired called terminal can be identified. For example, the called terminal may be identified by "H_WATANABE" which is the same as the real name of the user, for example, as a name indicating an internet terminal.

The list in FIG. 4 contains information necessary only for Internet telephones, but other information, including the user's registration number and the address and password required to authorize connection with the server, should also be registered as a list of databases. It is also convenient to add a list of IP addresses assigned by the server for PPP connections.

In this example, the terminals are connected to communicate with other terminals in the same computer network. However, terminals in a computer network may be connected to communicate with terminals in other computer networks as well. 6 shows an example in which a terminal in another computer network is connected for communication.

In Fig. 6, computer network NET11 is, for example, a computer network in which an Internet service provider is prepared. The computer network NET11 is composed of a server S11 and a router R11. The server S11 is connected to the public telephone line network TEL11 via modems M11, M12, M13, .... The server S11 is configured with a database DB11. The database DB11 stores information including telephone numbers of terminals connected to the computer network NET11 by PPP. The computer network NET11 is connected to other computer networks constituting the Internet via the router R11. The router R11 sends the data on the computer network to the appropriate computer network including the called terminal. The terminals T11, T12, T13, ... are terminals of individual individuals who individually participate in the Internet.

The computer network NET21 is, for example, a computer network in which other Internet service providers are prepared. The computer network NET21 is comprised of the server S21 and the router R21. The server S21 is connected to the public telephone network TEL21 via modems M21, M22, M23, .... The server S21 is provided with a database DB21. The database DB21 stores information including telephone numbers of terminals connected to the computer network NET21 by PPP. The computer network NET21 is connected to another computer network constituting the Internet via the router R21. The router R21 sends the data on the computer network to the appropriate computer network including the called terminal. The terminals T21, T22, T23, ... are terminals of each individual who personally participates in the Internet.

Here, it is assumed that the terminal T11 wants to make a telephone call to the terminal T12. In this case, the processing proceeds as shown in FIG.

First, the source terminal T11 calls the computer network NET11 of the Internet service provider and calls the server S11 of the computer network NET11. Correspondingly, server S11 requests terminal T11 to enter its customer code and password to ascertain whether source terminal T11 is one of the contractors of the Internet service provider.

The user of the source terminal T11 answers the request by entering his customer code and password. When the server S11 confirms that the entered customer code and password are those of the contractor, the server gives the terminal T11 a temporary IP address. Therefore, the PPP connection of the terminal T11 is started.

Thereafter, the terminal T11 sends a call request to the server S11, and the server S11 sends back a call approval. Upon receiving call approval, terminal T11 sends the desired destination address (e.g., terminal T21).

The server S11 connected to the source terminal transmits a call request for communicating with the terminal T21 upon reception of the incoming address to the server S21 of the computer network (for example, NET21) including the called terminal. . When the server S21 receives a call request for talking with the terminal T21, the server S21 sends the call approval back to the server S11. When the server S11 receives the call approval, the server S11 of the network NET11 including the source terminal transmits the incoming address and the information on the source terminal.

The server S21 of the computer network NET21 including the called terminal searches the database DB21 to find out the information of the terminal T21. The telephone number of the PPP connection terminal T21 can be found from the information of the database DB21. The server S21 of the computer network NET21 calls the terminal T21 by dialing the telephone number of the terminal T21 obtained from the database DB21.

The called terminal T21 accessed by the server S21 returns an acknowledgment. The server S21 requests a PPP connection upon receipt of an acknowledgment, and the terminal T21 sends a confirmation of the PPP connection upon receipt of a request for a PPP connection.

Thereafter, the server S21 requests input of a customer code and a password to send an approval. In response to the approval, the user of the called terminal enters the customer code and password. If it is confirmed that the entered customer code and password are the appropriate contractor's customer code and password, the IP address is assigned to the terminal T21. Therefore, the PPP connection of the terminal T21 is started.

When the PPP connection is started, a call request is sent from the server S21 to the terminal T21, and a call approval is sent back from the terminal T21 to the server S21. Thereafter, the server S21 of the computer network NET21 sends a call connection completion notice to the server S11 of the computer network NET11, and the server S11 sends a call connection completion notice to the terminal T11. As a result, voice data is exchanged in the call between the terminal T11 and the terminal T21.

For example, after a call ends, when a disconnect request is generated from the source terminal T11, the disconnect request is sent to the called terminal T21. Upon reception of the disconnect request, the terminal T21 sends the disconnection agreement back to the terminal T11, thereby disconnecting all connections.

In the above example, the server S11 and the server S21 of the computer networks NET11 and NET21 are each equipped with unique databases DB11 and DB21. However, the Internet may use a common server that provides information or other information about the telephone number of each terminal.

In a system capable of making a call between terminals of different computer networks, how to designate a server is an important problem. Considering that the Internet can distinguish each network by domain name, the same can be supplied to the servers for the call, ie the domain name can be assigned to each server.

Since the called terminal may be considered to belong to the LAN of the domain where the server exists, the terminal of the user PPP connected to the server may be regarded as belonging to the domain, and each terminal may be regarded as a combination of "domain name + terminal name". Can be confirmed.

When using the PPP connection, if the display mode of the same terminal including the domain name on the Internet is used, the call can be made using a method of confirming the called terminal such as "machine.domain1.domain2 ....". When the source terminal designates the called terminal in this way, the server finds the IP address of the server to which the called terminal is connected by referring to the domain name, and accesses a server equipped with the IP address to exchange information necessary for communication processing. Thereafter, the called server performs connection processing with the called terminal. However, as described above, domain names are not easy to use and remember.

Therefore, for the domain name, an easy-to-remember display for limiting the terminal name and an unlimited number of characters can be used. For example, to access a terminal named "hnabe (Internet shorthand for H.WATANABE's terminal)" in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, the display of the terminal name and area name, such as "H_Watanabe.Shi.Tokyo", indicates that the communication domain Can be approved by command. At the same time, a list can be prepared for conversion between the canonical domain name and the call domain name, and thus the call domain name entered on the Internet can be converted into its canonical representation. In this way, the called terminal can be identified by "terminal name + area name", which is easy to use and memorize.

As described above, the Internet telephone system to which the present invention is applied may use a dedicated Internet telephone as its terminal.

8 shows an internet telephone. In Fig. 8, reference numeral 1 denotes a telephone body. The telephone body 1 is provided with an indication / actuator 2 on its upper side. The display / actuator 2 is a multilayer panel in which the touch panels 4 are stacked on the display panel 3 as shown in FIG. 9. The display / actuator 2 displays icons such as numeric keys and operation keys, so that the user can input a desired instruction by pressing the touch panel 4 at a part of the corresponding icon. In addition to the icon of the key, the display / actuator 2 displays a help message for explaining how to operate the key and the current state of the telephone. Other information is also displayed on the display / actuator 2. The handset 5 is connected to the telephone body 1. The telephone body 1 is connected to a public telephone line.

10 shows the internal structure of the Internet telephone. In Fig. 10, reference numeral 11 denotes a CPU. The ROM 12, the EPROM 13, and the RAM 14 are connected to the CPU 11. The input from the touch panel 4 is sent to the CPU 11, and the output from the CPU 11 is displayed on the display panel 3.

The CPU 11 performs dial connection processing, IP data transmission processing, and voice signal compression / extension processing. That is, when the CPU 11 receives the incoming address and other information input through the touch panel 4, the CPU makes a NCU (Node Control Unit) 14 call the telephone number of the server of the Internet service provider. To execute the dial-up process. When the telephone connection is completed, the process proceeds to PPP connection processing. In either case, a call may arrive from the server of the Internet service provider, and a PPP connection is required. In this case, the CPU 11 performs the telephone connection processing, and after the telephone connection is completed, the connection processing is performed by PPP. During the call, the CPU 11 compresses or decompresses the transmitted or received voice signal and executes a transmission process by IP.

The audio signal passing through the microphone of the handset 5 is converted into a digital format by the A / D and D / A converter 18. The digital audio signal is sent to the CPU 11 for compression processing. The compressed voice signal is applied to the NCU via the modem 15.

The compressed voice signal transmitted through the telephone line is sent to the CPU 11 via the NCU 16 and the modem 15. The extended digital voice signal is supplied to the A / D and D / A converter 18 and converted into an analog format. The analog signal is supplied to the speaker of the handset 5.

Internet telephones can be used as ordinary telephones. When it functions as a normal telephone, the handset 5 and the NCU 16 are connected via the voice network 17, thereby enabling the communication of analog voice signals over the telephone line.

In order to use an Internet telephone by PPP connection, a personal computer is prepared in most cases. Such a personal computer needs to be connected to a microphone and a speaker, and to install appropriate software for connection to the Internet. It is difficult for a user unfamiliar with a computer to connect a personal computer to the Internet. Moreover, computers connected by PPP for use as Internet phones are difficult to operate and expensive.

The above-described Internet telephone apparatus does not need to install software for connection with the Internet, and can be easily connected with the Internet for voice communication. Moreover, the Internet telephone apparatus is equipped with a handset 5 such as a regular telephone and can be operated in the same manner as a normal telephone. Therefore, even a user unfamiliar with the computer can easily use the Internet telephone. In particular, the above-described Internet telephony apparatus is provided with a display / actuator 2 formed by stacking the touch panel 4 on the display panel 3, so that its operability is excellent.

The above described examples have been described as connected by PPP. However, the present invention is not limited to that connected by PPP, and can be applied in the same manner to SLIP and the like. For example, when Ethernet is directly connected to the Internet, the connection can be made by finding the IP address of the called terminal from the database of the server.

According to the present invention, since the database is configured to store information on the called terminal to be PPP-connected to each terminal, the telephone number of the called terminal can be obtained from the database for PPP connection. When the source terminal calls to the destination terminal connected by PPP, the server of the computer network searches the database to obtain the PPP connection address of the destination terminal. Thereafter, the server accesses the PPP connection address and makes a PPP connection with the called terminal. In this way, each terminal can access a called terminal to be connected by PPP, and can make a call with the called terminal.

1 is a block diagram used to describe the Internet.

2 is a block diagram used to describe a PPP connection.

3 is a block diagram used for explaining the Internet telephone system to which the present invention is applied.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram used for explaining the Internet telephone system to which the present invention is applied.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart used for explaining the Internet telephone system to which the present invention is applied.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram used for explaining another internet telephone system to which the present invention is applied.

7 is a continuous diagram used for explaining another Internet telephone system to which the present invention is applied;

8 is a perspective view of a telephone used in an internet telephone system to which the present invention is applied.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view used for explaining a telephone used in an internet telephone system to which the present invention is applied.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram of a telephone used in an internet telephone system to which the present invention is applied.

* Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

1. Telephone body 2. Indicator / operator

3. Display Panel 4. Touch Panel

5. Handset 11. CPU

12.ROM 13.EPROM

15. Modem 17. Voice Network

T1, T2,... . Terminals R1, R2,... . Router

S1, S151. Servers NET1, NET11,… . Computer network

Claims (10)

A server installed in a computer network connected to a plurality of terminals for transmitting data including at least one voice data. The server, A database for storing telephone numbers and Internet protocol addresses for each of the plurality of terminals; Means for obtaining a telephone number and an internet protocol address of a second terminal stored in the database; When the first terminal currently connected to the server requests the server to be connected to the second terminal currently disconnected from the computer network, the server uses the telephone number and the Internet protocol address of the second terminal. And access means for accessing a terminal and enabling a call between the first terminal and the second terminal through the computer network. The method of claim 1, Means for disconnecting the first terminal from the server after the first terminal makes the request to the server; And means for reconnecting said server to said first terminal using an internet protocol address for said first terminal when said second terminal is connected to said computer network. The method of claim 1, And means for notifying the first terminal of the status of the request for requesting to be connected to the second terminal. The method of claim 1, And means for notifying said first terminal when said second terminal is connected to said computer network. A communication method between a first terminal and a second terminal connected to a server of a computer network having a database for storing telephone numbers and Internet protocol addresses for each of a plurality of terminals, the method comprising: Performing a request to connect to the second terminal currently disconnected from the computer network from the first terminal currently connected to the server; Obtaining a telephone number and an internet protocol address for the second terminal stored in the database; Accessing the second terminal using the telephone number and the internet protocol address. A communication method between a first terminal and a second terminal connected to a server of a computer network having a database for storing telephone numbers and Internet protocol addresses for each of a plurality of terminals, the method comprising: Performing a request to connect to the second terminal currently disconnected from the computer network from the first terminal currently connected to the server; Cutting off the first terminal from the server after the first terminal makes the request to the server; Obtaining a telephone number and an internet protocol address for the second terminal stored in the database; Accessing the second terminal using the telephone number and the internet protocol address; And reconnecting the server to the first terminal using the internet protocol address for the first terminal when the second terminal is connected to the computer network. A communication method between a first terminal and a second terminal connected to a server of a computer network having a database for storing telephone numbers and Internet protocol addresses for each of a plurality of terminals, the method comprising: Performing a request to connect to the second terminal currently disconnected from the computer network from the first terminal currently connected to the server; Cutting off the first terminal from the server after the first terminal makes the request to the server; Obtaining a telephone number and an internet protocol address for the second terminal stored in the database; Accessing the second terminal using the telephone number and the internet protocol address; Reconnecting the server to the first terminal using the internet protocol address for the first terminal when the second terminal is connected to the computer network; Informing the first terminal that the second terminal does not respond when the second terminal is not available. A system using a communication method between a first terminal and a second terminal connected to a server of a computer network having a database for storing telephone numbers and internet protocol addresses for each of a plurality of terminals, The communication method, Performing a request to connect to the second terminal currently disconnected from the computer network from the first terminal currently connected to the server; Obtaining a telephone number and an internet protocol address for the second terminal stored in the database; Accessing the second terminal using the telephone number and the internet protocol address. A system using a communication method between a first terminal and a second terminal connected to a server of a computer network having a database for storing telephone numbers and internet protocol addresses for each of a plurality of terminals, The communication method, Performing a request to connect to the second terminal currently disconnected from the computer network from the first terminal currently connected to the server; Cutting off the first terminal from the server after the first terminal makes the request to the server; Obtaining a telephone number and an internet protocol address for the second terminal stored in the database; Accessing the second terminal using the telephone number and the internet protocol address; Reconnecting the server to the first terminal using an internet protocol address for the first terminal when the second terminal is connected to the computer network. A system using a communication method between a first terminal and a second terminal connected to a server of a computer network having a telephone number for each of a plurality of terminals and a database for storing an Internet protocol address. The communication method, Performing a request to connect to the second terminal currently disconnected from the computer network from the first terminal currently connected to the server; Cutting off the first terminal from the server after the first terminal makes the request to the server; Obtaining a telephone number and an internet protocol address for the second terminal stored in the database; Accessing the second terminal using the telephone number and the internet protocol address; Reconnecting the server to the first terminal using the internet protocol address for the first terminal when the second terminal is connected to the computer network; Informing the first terminal that the second terminal does not respond when the second terminal is not available.