US6052372A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for establishing communication
Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC
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Filing: 1996-11-07
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Granted: 2000-04-18
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Expires: 2016-11-07
Abstract
Abstract Communications are established between a source user (305) and a destination user (307). Data is transmitted between these users in packets (204) having a destination address (205) and communication data (206). A destination name is identified in a first packet and this packet is transmitted to a service control platform (301) identifying, in its communication data, a destination name. A packet is then returned from the control platform (301) to the originating source (305) identifying a real contactable address for the identified destination (307). Subsequent packets of data are generated at the source (305) for transmission to the destination (307) wherein the transmitted packets have the actual destination address, as returned from the service platform, appended thereto.
Inventors
- 👤 Christopher J. Gittins
- 👤 Stephan Harris
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 07:38
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L61/00; H04L61/45; H04L61/4535; H04L9/00; H04L9/40
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
226 words
A method of establishing data transmission, from a source terminal connected to one of a plurality of communications networks, to a desired recipient at a contactable address on another of the plurality of communications networks, each of the networks being connected via a respective gateway to a service control platform, and wherein the data is transmitted in packets having a destination address portion and communication data portion, the method comprising the steps of: providing at the source terminal a name identifying the desired recipient for the data; transmitting, from the source terminal to the service control platform, a name-to-address translation request packet containing in its communication data portion the provided name; receiving the translation request packet at the service control platform and, in response, accessing a name-to-address translation database in accordance with the provided name and, upon finding a match, retrieving address data currently stored in association with that name; transmitting a name-to-address translation reply packet from said control platform to said source terminal, the translation reply packet containing in its communication data portion the contactable address for the desired recipient comprising a network address portion and a gateway address portion; and in response to receipt of the translation reply packet at the source terminal, transmitting the data from said source terminal in packets, the destination address portion of each such packet containing the contactable address.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
226 words
A method of establishing data transmission, from a source terminal connected to one of a plurality of communications networks, to a desired recipient at a contactable address on another of the plurality of communications networks, each of the networks being connected via a respective gateway to a service control platform, and wherein the data is transmitted in packets having a destination address portion and communication data portion, the method comprising the steps of: providing at the source terminal a name identifying the desired recipient for the data; transmitting, from the source terminal to the service control platform, a name-to-address translation request packet containing in its communication data portion the provided name; receiving the translation request packet at the service control platform and, in response, accessing a name-to-address translation database in accordance with the provided name and, upon finding a match, retrieving address data currently stored in association with that name; transmitting a name-to-address translation reply packet from said control platform to said source terminal, the translation reply packet containing in its communication data portion the contactable address for the desired recipient comprising a network address portion and a gateway address portion; and in response to receipt of the translation reply packet at the source terminal, transmitting the data from said source terminal in packets, the destination address portion of each such packet containing the contactable address.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein the packets are transmitted in accordance with Internet-derived protocols.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein the providing step comprises selecting the name of the desired recipient from a list of names displayed on the source terminal.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 3, wherein the providing step comprises a substep of deriving said list of names from a database held at the service control platform.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
41 words
A method according to claim 4, including the steps of automatically sending a service connection request from the source terminal to the service control platform upon activation of the source terminal and, in response, transmitting names data to the source terminal.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method according to claim 4, wherein said names data is transmitted as an HTML page.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein said another of the plurality of communications networks is a PSTN, ISDN, GSM or WWW network.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
148 words
An apparatus arranged for connection to a network, and for receiving commands from an operator for sending data to a desired recipient at a contactable address, comprising: means responsive to the input by the operator of the name of a desired recipient for generating a name-to-address translation request packet comprising a communication data portion containing the desired recipient name, and for transmitting the generated name-to-address translation request packet via a gateway to a service control platform; means responsive to receipt of a name-to-address translation reply packet containing in its communication data portion a contactable address comprising a network address and a gateway address, for retrieving the contactable address therefrom; and means for generating, for transmission, packets of data, the destination address portion of each such packet having first and second subportions, the first subportion containing the retrieved network address, and the second subportion containing the retrieved gateway address.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
148 words
An apparatus arranged for connection to a network, and for receiving commands from an operator for sending data to a desired recipient at a contactable address, comprising: means responsive to the input by the operator of the name of a desired recipient for generating a name-to-address translation request packet comprising a communication data portion containing the desired recipient name, and for transmitting the generated name-to-address translation request packet via a gateway to a service control platform; means responsive to receipt of a name-to-address translation reply packet containing in its communication data portion a contactable address comprising a network address and a gateway address, for retrieving the contactable address therefrom; and means for generating, for transmission, packets of data, the destination address portion of each such packet having first and second subportions, the first subportion containing the retrieved network address, and the second subportion containing the retrieved gateway address.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
28 words
Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the name-to-address translation request packet generating means and the contactable address retrieval means are arranged to operate in accordance with Internet protocols.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
45 words
Apparatus according to claim 8, including a multi-tasking environment, one of the tasks being the reception of messages from the service platform, whereby such messages can be received while the apparatus is active regardless of whether any other task is being performed by the apparatus.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
15 words
Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said user apparatus executes a hyper-text transport protocol browser.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
49 words
An apparatus according to claim 11, arranged to receive names data in the form of an HTML page and to display that page, and responsive to selection of a name from that page by the operator to supply the selected name to the name-to-address translation request packet generating means.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
27 words
Apparatus according to claim 8, and arranged to respond to activation by an operator by automatically sending a service connection request addressed to the service control platform.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
39 words
A network comprising a plurality of apparatuses according to claim 8 connected to a local network, and a gateway node also connected to the local network, the gateway node having an output for connection to said service control platform.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
14 words
A network according to claim 14, wherein said output conforms to ISDN transmission standard.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
164 words
An apparatus for providing a source terminal with a contactable address for a desired recipient for data to be sent by the source terminal, the apparatus comprising; means for receiving from a source terminal a name-to-address translation request packet containing in its communication data portion a name identifying a desired recipient for the data; a name-to-address translation database in which entries comprise a name and an associated contactable address, each associated contactable address having a first part in the form of a network address and a second part in the form of a gateway address; means for accessing the name-to-address translation database in accordance with the name identifying a desired recipient to obtain the associated contactable address of an entry having a name matching the name identifying a desired recipient; and means for generating a name-to-address translation reply packet for transmission to the source terminal, the translation reply packet containing in its communication data portion the obtained associated contactable address for the desired recipient.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
164 words
An apparatus for providing a source terminal with a contactable address for a desired recipient for data to be sent by the source terminal, the apparatus comprising; means for receiving from a source terminal a name-to-address translation request packet containing in its communication data portion a name identifying a desired recipient for the data; a name-to-address translation database in which entries comprise a name and an associated contactable address, each associated contactable address having a first part in the form of a network address and a second part in the form of a gateway address; means for accessing the name-to-address translation database in accordance with the name identifying a desired recipient to obtain the associated contactable address of an entry having a name matching the name identifying a desired recipient; and means for generating a name-to-address translation reply packet for transmission to the source terminal, the translation reply packet containing in its communication data portion the obtained associated contactable address for the desired recipient.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
17 words
An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said means for accessing said database includes an ATM network.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
15 words
An apparatus according to claim 16, including respective gateways to a plurality of communications environments.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
17 words
An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said gateways are gateways to PSTN, ISDN and GSM networks.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
19 words
An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein one of said gateways is a gateway to the established world-wide web.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
30 words
An apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said gateway to the world-wide web is arranged to receive instructions enabling a destination terminal to remotely control aspects of the apparatus' functionality.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-04-18 | 2003-10-18 | 2004-04-18 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-04-18 | 2007-10-18 | 2008-04-18 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-04-18 | 2011-10-18 | 2012-04-18 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |