WO2001022671A1

WO2001022671A1 - Telephony network/computer network interconnection system

Info

Publication number: WO2001022671A1
Application number: PCT/DK2000/000506
Authority: WO
Inventors: Finn Hovald Ritslev
Original assignee: Adda Tel Aps
Priority date: 1999-09-17
Filing date: 2000-09-13
Publication date: 2001-03-29
Also published as: AU7269700A

Abstract

A telephony network/computer network interconnection system connected to a public communication network, which is capable of accommodating two or more connections between a telephone or a computer device and the public communication network while maintaining the service level, stability and connectivity of traditional telephone calls and computer network connections. Allows for telephone calls to be performed while a computer connection is at the same time being performed. The two simultaneous connections are preferably obtained by changing the frequency of one of the communication signals in order to avoid interference between the two signals. Further, a method of operating the system wherein a call forwarding possibility is provided.

Description

2 conversations, and in the worst case new wiring between the termination point POTS and the telephone company's local switch.

Computer network telephony allows voice communication over a computer network, such as the Internet or the Intranet. Computer network telephony is becoming increasingly important in the so-called "information age" in both the private sector and the business world. This is because of the ease with which the world-wide computer network (the Internet) can be accessed and used.

Most private sector users, and many businesses access the Internet using a modem- equipped computer to dial up and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) using a local telephone number. The ISP then establishes communication between the Internet and the computer. Because the ISP's telephone number is usually a local call, world-wide communication via the Internet can be achieved at the cost of a local telephone call or less. Alternatively, many business and government agencies have dedicated Internet connections, thus not requiring the access via an ISP.

The development of the Internet, with its concomitantly low communications cost, has spawned its use for voice communications, conventionally known as "Voice over Internet Protocol" (VoIP). This technology is currently utilized in three distinct platforms: (1) the conventional computer-to-computer platform, (2) the telephone IP Gateway platform, and (3) the Intranet platform. The first two platforms allow a caller to talk to another party anywhere in the world for the price of being interconnected to Internet, i.e. the price of a local call or less. The third platform allows businesses to use an Intranet for voice communications, primarily via central IP Gateways and routers, between remotely located branch offices.

The conventional computer-to-computer platform requires coordination between the communicating parties. Each party must first access the Internet. During the Internet telephone call, the caller's voice is digitized by the computer's sound card and sent out over the Internet as compressed and packetized TCP/IP traffic. At the receiving end, this data is received and processed by software to extract and decompress the voice signal, and is then sent to the receiving computer's speaker(s). However, this platform will not work with conventional telephones. Furthermore, it requires a computer that is equipped with a sound card, microphone and one or more speakers. The sound card, speakers, 3 and microphone setup has lesser sound quality than a conventional telephone because it, amongst other, unlike a conventional telephone lacks echo cancellation. Where speakers are used, it also lacks the privacy afforded by a conventional telephone.

Private companies have entered the Internet telephony market by developing the telephone IP Gateway platform. These companies utilize proprietary Gateways connected to the public switched telephone network and the Internet. To initialize an Internet telephone call, a user dials into a local IP Gateway via the public switched telephone network. The local IP Gateway will then contact a remote IP Gateway, via the Internet, within the local telephone region of the party being called. The remote IP Gateway then dials the number of the person being called, allowing the two parties to communicate over the Internet. Because both calls are local, the entire call takes place without longdistance/international charges. However, most IP Gateway solutions are proprietary and will not work with other vendor IP Gateways, and are not a practical solution because of expense and complication.

The Internet platform allows businesses with remotely located branch offices to communicate using VoIP technology. This is accomplished much like the computer-to- computer platform, except the business' Intranet is used instead of the Internet. This platform, too, will not work with a conventional telephone and requires computers that are equipped with a sound card, microphone, and one or more speakers. The disadvantages with this solution have been described above.

Because of the low cost of IP-based telephony, it is reasonably foreseeable that the telephony infrastructure of the future will be based on VoIP. Thus, there is a need to bridge the gab between the existing public switched telephone network and the future infrastructure. The major problem with existing platforms is that they will not work with a conventional telephone, or they require use of a proprietary IP Gateway server. There are telephones and interface devices that connect to a computer or to a Local Area Network (LAN); however, these devices do not permit continued use of the public switched telephone network

A device, disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,838,665, links the public switched telephone network and the Internet via an adapter telephone device. This device, however, requires the user to replace his or her existing telephone with the adapter device. Additionally, this 4 device connects to the computer's sound card, thus monopolizing its functionality and preventing its use for other applications, when using this device.

Another device, disclosed in patent application US 09/301 ,555 (Akselsen) filed with the US authorities, is an adapter, which allows the user to take advantage of the current Internet and Intranet telephony infrastructure, without sacrificing the service level, stability, and connectivity of the current public switched telephony infrastructure, or having to replace their existing telephone with a specially designed device. A disadvantage with this solution is, that only a dedicated telephone is offered this level of services whenever the same single public telephone company's termination point POTS is being used for both communication to the public switched telephone network and to the computer network. More specifically, if the user has wired more than one telephone to a private telephone network between the adapter and the public telephone company's termination point providing access to the public switched telephone network, and the private telephone network is being used for communication between the computer device and the public switched telephone network, it will prevent any of the telephones connected to the private telephone network from being used simultaneously, nor will they have access to the same level of services as the telephone connected directly to the adapter.

Thus, there is a need for an interconnection system, which allows the user having more than one conventional telephone and interconnected by means of a private telephone network consisting of telephone wires in a random tree structure or other connection means to the public switched telephone network by means of a single public telephone company's termination point POTS to take advantage of the current Intranet and Intranet telephony infrastructure, without sacrificing the service level, stability, and connectivity of the current public switched telephony infrastructure, also when the computer device communicates with the computer network via the single public termination point POTS, without having to replace their existing telephone with a specially designed device, or without the need to rewire the interconnections between the telephones.

There is also a need for an interconnection system, which allows the user having more than one conventional telephone interconnected to the public switched telephone network by means of a single public telephone company's termination point POTS to simultaneously use two telephones, one of which is connected to the interconnection system, the other to the private telephone network without sacrificing the service level, 5 stability, and connectivity of the current public switched telephony infrastructure, without having to replace their existing telephone with a specially designed device, or without the need to rewire the interconnections between the telephones.

Furthermore, there is also a need for an interconnection system, which allows the user having more than one conventional telephone interconnected to the public switched telephone network by means of a single public telephone company's termination point POTS to simultaneously use two or more telephones, one of which is connected to the private telephone network, the remaining to the interconnection system without sacrificing the service level, stability, and connectivity of the current public switched telephony infrastructure, without having to replace their existing telephone with a specially designed device, or without the need to rewire the interconnections between the telephones.

Solutions exist, which either permanently redirect telephone calls, or where the consumer has to manually redirect incoming telephone calls when the telephone line is to be used for computer network communication. This may be done by forwarding the call to an IP Gateway facility. However, such solutions are inappropriate, as they either require the computer network connection to be permanently active, or the consumer forgets to cancel the call forwarding upon termination of computer network communication, in which case subsequent incoming calls are permanently lost. Thus, there is further a need for an interconnection system, which may automatically perform these functions, so that the forwarding is only active when the PC is active. The interconnection system may perform this either by itself or in combination with any of the former mentioned improvements. Also, there is a need for variants of the interconnection system, which may cancel the call forwarding after power has been lost to the interconnection system, e.g. due to a power breakdown.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION OUTGOING CALLS: It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a telephony network/computer network interconnection system that is simultaneously connected to a public switched telephone system, a private telephone network consisting of telephone wires in a random tree structure or other connection means and interconnected telephones, and a computer device to allow computer network telephone calls to be conducted using any of the conventional telephones even when the private telephone 6 network is being used for communication between the computer device and the computer network.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a telephony network/computer network interconnection system that is simultaneously connected to a public switched telephone system, a private telephone network consisting of telephone wires in a random tree structure or other connection means and interconnected telephones, and a computer device to allow computer network telephone calls to be conducted using any of the conventional telephones even when the public telephone company's termination point POTS is being used for communication between the computer device and the computer network.

INCOMING CALLS:

Another object of the present invention is to provide a telephony network/computer network interconnection system that is connected simultaneously to a public switched telephone system, a private telephone network consisting of telephone wires in a random tree structure or other connection means and interconnected telephones, and a computer device to allow computer network telephone calls to be conducted using any of the telephones of the private telephone network without sacrificing the sound quality and privacy afforded by a conventional telephone even when the private telephone network is being used for communication between the computer device and the computer network.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a telephony network/computer network interconnection system that is connected simultaneously to a public switched telephone system, a private telephone network consisting of telephone wires in a random tree structure or other connection means and interconnected telephones, and a computer device to allow computer network telephone calls to be conducted using any of the telephones of the private telephone network without sacrificing the sound quality and privacy afforded by a conventional telephone even when the public telephone company's termination point POTS is being used for communication between the computer device and the computer network.

MORE THAN ONE PHONE:

Furthermore, yet another object of the present invention is to provide a telephony network/computer network interconnection system that is simultaneously connected to a public switched telephone system, a private telephone network consisting of telephone 7 wires in a random tree structure or other connection means and interconnected conventional wired and wireless telephones, a directly connected telephone, and a computer device to allow computer network telephone calls to be conducted by any one of the other telephones, when already using a telephone directly connected to the interconnection system simultaneously for computer network calls, outgoing as incoming, and vice versa for the directly connected telephone, when already using any one of the other telephones.

Also, yet another object of the present invention is to provide a telephony network/computer network interconnection system that is simultaneously connected to a public switched telephone system, a private telephone network consisting of telephone wires in a random tree structure or other connection means and interconnected conventional wired and wireless telephones, more than one directly connected telephone, and a computer device to allow computer network telephone calls to be conducted by any one of the other telephones, when already using a telephone connected to the private network simultaneously for computer network calls, outgoing as incoming, and vice versa for more than one directly connected telephone, when already using any one or more of the telephones directly connected to the interconnection system.

Yet other objects of the present invention are variants with an additional dedicated telephone directly connected to the subsystem in any of the configurations already described for other objects of this invention, where both a directly connected telephone and the telephones connected to the private network may be used simultaneously and with the same level of services as described in the above objects.

Yet another object of the present invention is to perform an automated control of forwarding incoming telephone calls to an IP Gateway, when computer network communication is occupying the telephone line to the public switched network.

Thus according to the present invention is provided a telephony network/computer network interconnection system comprising

- at least one telephone being connected to at least one private telephone network, each telephone being capable of performing traditional telephony as well as computer network telephony, - at least one computer device, 8

- first communication means for establishing a connection between the at least one private telephone network(s) and the at least one computer device(s), and a first public communication network,

- second communication means for establishing connections between the at least one private telephone network(s) and the at least one computer device(s), wherein said first communication means is capable of accommodating two or more connections between said at least one private telephone network(s) and/or said at least one computer device(s), and said first public communication network at the same time, so as to allow for two or more telephone calls/computer network connections to be performed simultaneously, while still maintaining the service level, stability and connectivity of traditional telephone calls and computer network connections.

In most applications the telephone(s) will be connected to one private telephone network only. However, in some applications there may be two or more different private telephone networks. Each private telephone network may then interconnect some or all of the telephone(s), and the networks may be connected to each other, or they may be totally separated, so that each of them may, independently of the others, establish a connection to the first public communication network. The private telephone network(s) preferably comprise(s) wire connections, such as traditional copper wires, optical fibre cables or any other suitable kind of connections. Alternatively or additionally it/they may comprise wireless connections, so that the telephone(s) may be e.g. wireless telephone(s) and/or cellular telephone(s).

Each of the computer device(s) may be a personal computer (PC). It may also be a server, a computer terminal or any other suitable kind of computer device. The telephony network/computer network interconnection system may comprise several of the above mentioned kinds of computer devices. In case the telephony network/computer network interconnection system comprises two or more computer devices these may be interconnected via a local computer network, such as a local area network (LAN) or any other suitable kind of local computer network.

The first communication means preferably comprises suitable wire and/or wireless connections as mentioned above in connection with the private telephone network(s). Additionally, it most preferably comprises a termination point POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) for providing access to the first public communication network. The second communication means also preferably comprises suitable wire and/or wireless connections as mentioned above. The second communication means may comprise a USB connection, a connection to a COM port and/or a connection to a parallel port.

As mentioned above, the telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to the invention allows for two or more telephone calls/computer network connections to be performed simultaneously. The term "simultaneously" should be interpreted as follows. At least part of the time a given connection is performed, another connection may also be performed. That is, the two connections are not necessarily established and/or terminated at the same time, and the duration of the one connection is not necessarily equal to the duration of the other. Therefore, the fact that one connection is being performed does not exclude another connection from being established, and hence the person wishing to establish the second connection does not have to wait for the first connection to be terminated.

The telephony network/computer network interconnection system may further comprise a second public communication network and third communication means being capable of establishing a connection between the at least one computer device(s) and said second public communication network. The third communication means may be integrated in the second communication means. Alternatively, it may be separate.

The first public communication network may comprise a public switched telephone network, such as the ordinary public telephone network. The first and/or the second public communication network may comprise a global computer network, such as the Internet or the World Wide Web, and/or it may comprise a private computer network, such as an intranet, and/or it may comprise any other suitable kind of communication network.

Most preferably the first public communication network is a telephone network and the second public communication network is a global or local computer network. Thus, the first communication means is preferably an analog telephone line.

The telephony network/computer network interconnection system may further comprise 10

a first communication device being able to communicate with the first public communication network and the at least one private telephone network(s), and a second communication device being able to communicate with the at least one computer device(s), the at least one private telephone network(s) and said first communication device, wherein said first communication device is able to establish a direct connection between said second communication device and the first public communication network so as to allow simultaneous transmission of two or more telephone calls and/or computer network connections between the one or more telephone(s) and/or the one or more computer device(s), and the public communication network.

The first communication device may comprise connection means, such as copper wires, optical fibres, wireless connections and/or any other suitable kind of connection means for establishing connections to the first public communication network, most preferably via a POTS. The first communication device may also comprise control means for controlling the communication between the telephone(s)/computer(s) and the public communication network, and the control means may comprise computer means.

The second communication device may also comprise connection means like the ones mentioned above for establishing connections between the various devices which the second communication device is able to communicate with. It may also comprise control means as described above.

The first communication device is able to establish a direct connection between said second communication device and the first public communication network. Thus, the first communication device is able to "bypass" the ordinary connection, so that a connection may be established even though another connection is already being performed. Thereby simultaneous transmission of two or more telephone calls and/or computer network connections between the one or more telephone(s) and/or the one or more computer device(s), and the first public communication network is allowed.

The first communication device preferably comprises means for changing the frequency of a first communication signal being received by the first communication device so as to avoid interference between said communication signal and a second communication signal being simultaneously received by the first communication device. Thereby said first 1 1

and second communication signals are allowed to be transmitted simultaneously via the first communication device and the first communication means. The second communication signal is preferably transmitted at a frequency being in the frequency band normally used for such communication, while the frequency of the first communication signal is preferably being changed to another frequency band.

The first communication signal may be a computer network communication and the second communication signal may be a traditional telephone call. In this case it is thus the frequency of the computer network communication which is changed, while the frequency of the traditional telephone call is maintained.

Alternatively, the telephony network/computer network interconnection system may further comprise a first communication device being able to communicate with the first public communication network and the at least one private telephone network(s), and a second communication device being able to communicate with the at least one computer device(s), the at least one private telephone network(s) and said first communication device, wherein said second communication device is able to establish a connection between said second communication device and the second public communication network so as to allow simultaneous transmission of two or more telephone calls and/or computer network connections between the one or more telephone(s) and/or the one or more computer device(s), and the second public communication network.

The remarks above apply equally here. But in this case it is the second communication device which may "bypass" the ordinary connection.

Communication with the first public communication network may be a direct and an active connection only for traditional telephony to or from any one of the telephones, while the second public communication network may be used for computer network communication including computer network telephony.

The second communication device may comprise power supply means for supplying power to at least part of the telephony network/computer network interconnection system. An ordinary telephone system would normally extract the power needed to run the system 12 from the public switched telephone network. However, the power which may be extracted in this manner is not sufficient to also run e.g. a local computer network or a computer connection from a computer device to a global computer network, such as an ISDN connection. In case of an ISDN connection it is therefore necessary to supply power at the termination point POTS, e.g. by providing a regular plug at that position. This is a great disadvantage since it is expensive, inconvenient and troublesome to install such a plug. By supplying the power via the second communication device, as may be done in a interconnection system according to the present invention, installation of such additional plugs is avoided. Instead the power may be extracted from the power supply means which are already installed in the house accommodating the system, since the second communication device most advantageously extract the power needed for its operation from there. The power supply means of the second communication device may comprise one or more plugs, wirering, one or more adapters, one or more transformers and/or any other suitable means for distributing/supplying power to various parts of the telephony network/computer network interconnection system.

The power supply means of the second communication device may supply power to all of the interconnection system, or it may only supply power to a smaller part of the interconnection system, such as only the part comprising the one or more computer device(s), only the part comprising one or more of the at least one private telephone network(s), only the part comprising the communication means and/or any other suitable part of the system.

Alternatively or additionally, the telephony network/computer network interconnection system may comprise at least two telephones being interconnected via the at least one private telephone network(s). In this case each telephone is capable of performing traditional telephony as well as computer network telephony independently of the other telephone(s). In this embodiment any of the telephones being interconnected via one of the private telephone network(s) may be used for establishing a connection to the first public communication network. There is thus not just one dedicated telephone which may be used for such a purpose.

The telephones of at least one of the at least one private telephone network(s) of the embodiment described above may advantageously be interconnected in a random tree structure. 13

The telephony network/computer network interconnection system may further comprise one or more telephones being directly connected to one or more of the at least one computer device(s), the system further allowing telephone calls between one or more of said telephone(s) and the first or second public communication network to be performed while still maintaining the service level, stability and connectivity of traditional telephone calls and computer network connections. In this case it is possible to communicate directly between such a telephone and such a computer device. This may make it easier to perform computer telephony from such a telephone. The computer device(s) may e.g. be used for converting analog signals from the telephone into digital signals to be transmitted via the computer device(s).

The interconnection system may be controlled by one or more of the computer device(s) through at least one of the at least one private telephone network(s). In this embodiment one or more of the computer device(s) control(s) the traffic of communication being directed through the interconnection system.

The interconnection system may allow one or more of the at least one private telephone network(s) to be switched between a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and a computer device, so as to in the first case allow conventional telephony, and in the second case allow for two or more telephone calls/computer network connections to be performed simultaneously, while still maintaining the service level, stability and connectivity of traditional telephone calls and computer network connections.

It is thus possible to use the private telephone network(s) in a traditional way, i.e. for performing ordinary telephone calls one at a time (i.e. the first case). On the other hand it is also possible to choose a configuration (the second case) which allows for two or more connections to be performed simultaneously. It is therefore possible to install the interconnection system according to the invention at already existing private telephone network(s).

The switching between the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and the computer device may be controlled by one of the at least one computer device(s) of the interconnection system. 14

Preferably, at least one of the at least one computer device(s) is a personal computer. One or more of the computer device(s) may however alternatively be another kind of computer device, such as a server device, a computer terminal or any other suitable kind of computer device.

One or more of the parts of the telephony network/computer network interconnection system described above may be embedded in a computer device. The computer device may be one of the computer device(s) of the system, or it may be an external computer device.

The present invention further provides a method of operating a telephony network/computer network interconnection system as described above, the method comprising the steps of

- the first communication means establishing a first connection between one of the at least one telephone(s) or at least one computer device(s), and a public communication network,

- the first communication means establishing a second connection between another one of the at least one telephone(s) or at least one computer device(s), and a public communication network, the establishment of said second connection not causing said first connection to be interrupted, and simultaneously transmitting a first communication signal via said first connection and a second communication signal via said second connection.

According to this method it is thus possible to establish a second connection even though a connection is already being performed, and it is possible to transmit the communication signals of the two connections simultaneously. That is, it is possible to establish a telephone call while a computer connection is being performed, and vice versa.

The public communication network(s) to which the first and second connections are established may be the same public communication network (e.g. a telephone network), or it may be two different public communication networks (e.g. a telephone network and a computer network). 15

One or more of the computer devices may perform a conversion of the first connection from traditional telephony to computer network telephony, in which form it is handled when two or more telephone calls/computer network connections are active.

Preferably, the step of establishing a second connection comprises the step of changing the frequency of the second communication signal, so as to avoid interference between said first communication signal and said second communication signal. This has already been described above.

The method may further comprise the step of the first communication means converting an analog signal of a telephone call into a digital signal before transmitting said signal. This way an ordinary telephone call may be converted into a computer telephone call, whereby the call may be directed via a computer device to the public communication network. The digital signal may be a signal according to the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

The invention further provides a method of operating a telephony network/computer network interconnection system as described above based upon the use of standard telephony signaling as used between a traditional telephone and a public switched telephone network for controlling "call forwarding" and "call forwarding on busy" to forwarding incoming telephone calls to an IP Gateway for converting the incoming traditional telephony to computer network telephony, the method comprising the steps of automatically redirecting incoming telephone calls in the public switched telephone network destined to one of the telephones connected to the telephony network/computer network interconnection system by, as part of establishing a computer network communication, issuing the appropriate commands to the public switched telephone network, automatically resetting, canceling the call forwarding, or by reestablishing the state of the call redirection to its prior state, when the computer network communication is terminated, from either of the computer device(s), the second communication means, or one of the communication devices.

When the system is busy, i.e. when a traditional telephone call is already being performed, incoming calls may thus be automatically redirected to an IP Gateway. At the IP Gateway the call is reconfigured to a computer telephone call which may then be 16 directed to the recipient. The "appropriate commands" preferably comprises information regarding the destination of the call, the manner in which the call may be reconfigured, the "address" of the IP Gateway and/or any other suitable kind of information.

The call forwarding as well as the cancellation of it is performed automatically, i.e. without the user having to perform an active act. This is a great advantage since users tend to forget to either activate or cancel such call forwarding, in which case the system does not perform as intended.

The call may be redirected to an IP Gateway in a global computer network, or it may be redirected to an IP Gateway in a private computer network, the IP Gateway in bothe cases performing conversion between traditional telephony and computer network telephony.

The method may further comprise the step of retaining power for a time interval in case the power supply of the telephony network/computer network interconnection system is lost, the time interval being sufficiently long so as to enable performing the signalling to the public switched telephone network required for re-establishing the call forwarding state.

Thus, in case of a power failure, the telephony network/computer network interconnection system can provide the power necessary to re-establish the call forwarding state, that is incoming calls will be forwarded in case of a power failure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following detailed description, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates the overall telephony communication system and the integration of the computer network telephony interconnection subsystem with the system in a first embodiment of the present invention,

Fig. 2 illustrates one aspect of the invention,

Fig. 3 illustrates a variant of the aspect illustrated in Fig. 2, 17

Fig. 4 illustrates another aspect of the invention,

Fig. 5 illustrates yet another aspect of the invention,

Fig. 6 illustrates the a more detailed view of the telephony communication system and the integration of the computer network telephony interconnection subsystem with the system, in a first embodiment of the present invention,

Fig. 7 illustrates the connections used during off-line mode of operation,

Fig. 8 illustrates the connections used during on-line mode of operation, and

Fig. 9 illustrates a more detailed view of the telephony communication system and the integration of the computer network telephony interconnection subsystem with the system, in a second embodiment of the present invention.

The subsequent section describes the preferred embodiment of the telephony network/computer network interconnection system. Furthermore, a few additional embodiments have been included expanding upon the preferred embodiment to illustrate another important aspect of the invention. However, these implementations are provided, and do not limit the scope of other implementations foreseen within the scope of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Fig. 1 depicts the overall telephony communication system 10 and the integration of the telephony network/computer network interconnection system 12 into the system 10. The overall system includes a public switched telephone network 14 including the public telephone company's termination point POTS 13, a computer network 18 connected to the public switched telephone network 14, a computer device 15, and a private telephone network 11.

In one aspect of the present invention, the telephony network/computer network interconnection system comprises two devices B and C as illustrated in Fig. 2. One device 18

B includes second, third, fifth and sixth receiving means, while the other device C includes first and fourth receiving means. The first receiving means receives analog telephony signals from a public switched telephone network. The second receiving means receives analog telephony signals from the computer device. The third receiving means receives control signals and electrical power from the computer device. The fourth receiving means receives analog telephony signals, digitized signals for computer device and computer network communication and control signals at another frequency than that used for the analog telephony signals, and electrical power from the private telephone network. The fifth receiving means receives analog telephony signals, digitized signals for computer device and computer network communication and control signals at another frequency than that used for the analog telephony signals from/to the private telephone network, and supplies electrical power to the private telephone network and to the device C. The sixth receiving means receives digitized signals from the computer device.

In a further aspect of the present invention, the telephony network/computer network interconnection system comprises two devices B and C as illustrated in Fig. 3. One device B includes second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh receiving means, while the other device C includes first, fourth and eighth receiving means. The first receiving means receives analog telephony signals from a public switched telephone network. The second receiving means receives analog telephony signals from the computer device. The third receiving means receives control signals and electrical power from the computer device. The fourth receiving means receives analog telephony signals and electrical power from the primary private telephone network. The fifth receiving means receives analog telephony signals from and supplies electrical power to the primary private telephone network. The sixth receiving means receives digitized signals from the computer device. The seventh receiving means receives digitized signals for computer device and computer network communication and control signals from a secondary private telephone network. The eighth receiving means receives digitized signals for computer device and computer network communication and control signals from a secondary private telephone network.

In yet a further aspect of the present invention, the telephony network/computer network interconnection system comprises two devices B and C as illustrated in Fig. 4. One device B includes second, third, fifth, sixth, and ninth receiving means, while the other device C includes first and fourth receiving means. The first receiving means receives analog telephony signals from the public switched telephone network. The second receiving 19 means receives analog telephony signals from the computer device. The third receiving means receives control signals and electrical power from the computer device. The fourth receiving means receives analog telephony signals, digitized signals for computer device and computer network communication and control signals at another frequency than that used for the analog telephony signals, and electrical power from the private telephone network. The fifth receiving means receives analog telephony signals, digitized signals for computer device and computer network communication and control signals at another frequency than that used for the analog telephony signals from the private telephone network, and supplies electrical power to the private telephone network. The sixth receiving means receives digitized signals from the computer device. The ninth receiving means receives analog telephony signals from a directly connected conventional telephone.

In yet a further aspect of the present invention, the telephony network/computer network interconnection system comprises two devices B and C as illustrated in Fig. 5. One device B includes second, third, fifth, and ninth receiving means, while the other device C includes first and fourth receiving means. The first receiving means receives analog telephony signals from the public switched telephone network. The second receiving means receives analog telephony signals from the computer device. The third receiving means receives control signals and electrical power from the computer device. The fourth receiving means receives analog telephony signals, control signals at another frequency than that used for the analog telephony signals, and electrical power from the private telephone network. The fifth receiving means receives analog telephony signals, control signals at another frequency than that used for the analog telephony signals from, and supplies electrical power to the private telephone network. The ninth receiving means receives analog telephony signals from a directly connected conventional telephone. In variants of this aspect, the ninth receiving means is replicated one or more times.

The source of the power supply in all aspects described above comes from the computer device 15. Yet a new suite of aspects with identical functionality and service level being offered to any of the telephones could be derived by providing the power separately to a tenth receiving means (not shown) of either device B or device C, having the power supply being provided by means of a power cable connection to a power outlet similar to the power outlet used for powering a computer device. 20

Fig. 6 depicts in more details the same as Fig. 1. The private telephone network 11 comprises telephone wires in a random tree structure 60 to private telephone wall outlets 50, 51 , 52, 53, ...5x, and/or other means of interconnections, e.g. wireless connections (not shown), and multiple conventional telephones 40, 41 , 42, 43, ...4x and/or optionally portable phones (not shown). The private telephone network 11 would otherwise be connected to the public telephone company's termination point POTS 13 by connection 4. The computer device 15 includes a microprocessor (not shown), memory (not shown) which stores software, an adapter 30 for converting telephone signals to digital signals and vice versa, a digitized signal termination M 17, and preferably a universal and serial bus (USB) 25 for signal and power supply outlet.

The telephony network/computer network interconnection system 12 comprises devices B 31 and C 32. These two devices are interconnected by means of the private telephone network 11.

Device B 31 is integrated into the system 10 by connecting it to the private telephone network 11 and the computer device 15. Device B 31 is connected to the private telephone network 11 via a conventional telephone wall jack 22. This can be accomplished by connecting conventional telephone wiring 5 between the wall jack 22 and the device B 31. Additionally, but optionally, device B 31 can be interconnected to the device C 32 by means a dedicated connection, radio transmission, or similar wireless communication 7, intended for control signals for device C 32, and computer device 15 to computer network 18 communication. Device B 31 is connected to the computer device 15 by three connections 2, 3 and 6.

Connection 2, intended for telephone signals, between the device B 31 and the computer device 15 might be by means of a telephone wire terminated in conventional telephone wall jacks. In yet another implementation, the device B 31 is integrated into the adapter A 30. These are examples, of course, not limiting how any connection known to an ordinarily skilled artisan could be used to interconnect the computer device 15 and device B 31. Connection 3, intended amongst other for control signals, between device B 31 and the computer device 15 are preferably by means of the computer 16's universal serial bus (USB) port 25. This can be accomplished by inserting a cable 3 between the device B 31 and the computer's USB port 25. One or more USB ports is standard in new computer devices, and can be added to an existing system quite readily by an ordinarily skilled 21 artisan. The USB port 25 not only allows data communication between device B 31 and the computer device 15, but also provides power to the device B 31 and device 32's internal circuitry. As a variant, but retaining the signal path, the power may be supplied to either device B 31 or device 32 by separate cable connection (not shown) to a power supply wall plug using ordinary power cables similarly to how a computer 16 is connected to a power supply wall plug. These are examples, of course, not limiting how any connection known to an ordinarily skilled artisan could be used to interconnect the computer device 15 and device B 31.

Connection 6, intended for computer device 15 to computer network 18 communication, between device B 31 and the computer 16, is by means of a standard telecommunication wire connected between a modem device M 17 that is connected to the computer 16. The wire may be terminated in conventional telephone wall jacks or similar electronic means. In an alternative implementation, the modem device M 17 might be integrated into the device B 31 , in which case the connection will be to the computer device 15's serial port. In yet another implementation, the device B 31 is integrated into the modem device M 17. These are examples, of course, not limiting how any connection known to an ordinarily skilled artisan could be used to interconnect computer 16 and device B 31.

Device C 32 is integrated into the system 10 by connecting it to a public switched telephone network 14 and to the private telephone network 11. Device C 32 is connected with the public switched telephone network 14 at the public telephone company's termination point POTS 13 by mean of connection 4. This can be accomplished in the same way, as the private telephone network 11 would otherwise have connected with the public telephone company's termination point POTS 13. The private network 11 is connected to device C 32. This can be accomplished in the same way, as the private telephone network 11 would otherwise have connected with the public telephone company's termination point POTS 13.

Control signals for telephony network/computer network interconnection system 12 are received from the computer device 15, preferably by means of an interconnection between the computer device 15 and device B 31 using a Universal Serial Bus (USB) 25.

Having described in detail the overall system 10, a detailed operational description of the system 10 and of the telephony network computer network interconnection system 12 will 22

now be provided. In Figs. 7 and 8 the small dotted lines indicate telephony communication and the big dotted lines indicate computer communication.

The system has two modes of operation, off-line and on-line:

Off-line Mode of Operation

Fig. 7 illustrates the connections used during off-line mode of operation.

The private telephone network 11 will be connected directly to the public switched telephone network 14 by an electronic switch or relay (not shown) in device C 32, when the computer device 15 is not powered up and controlling the operation. Thus, all telephones 40, 41 , 42, 43, ...4x operate traditionally, i.e. as before the telephony network/computer network interconnection system 12 was installed.

Furthermore, the computer device's connection 6 for digitized computer device 15 to computer network 18 communication will be connected directly to the private telephone network 1 1 by means of connection 6 and operate traditionally, i.e. as before the telephony network/computer network interconnection system 12 was installed. Please note, only one of the type of connections may be active at any point in time, i.e. either one is having telephony communication or one is having computer communication, but not both simultaneously.

In this state, power is provided from the public switched telephone network 14. Specifically, the supply power supply actively during on-line operation for a telephony network/computer network interconnection system 12 is disconnected from the subsystem by means of a relay or similar circuitry (not shown).

In a well-designed implementation of the invention, the off-line mode of operation should be the start-up mode of operation of the system, and also the state in which the system automatically falls back, should the power source disappear. Furthermore, this mode of operation should be designed not to draw any power. Also, power for device C 32 will only be required when going from off-line to on-line operation. The public switched telephone network provides sufficient power for achieving these objectives and can be accomplished by any ordinarily skilled artisan. 23

The actions required in going from on-line operation to off-line operation (cf. also Fig. 8) comprises disconnecting the communication path 76 between the computer device 15 and computer network 18, secondly by disconnecting the source of power from the private telephone network 11 , thirdly in re-establishing a direct connection between the private telephone network 11 and the public switched network 14. Optionally, in yet another implementation, the connections 2 and 6 with the computer devices may be terminated.

On-line Mode of Operation

Fig. 8 illustrates the connections used during on-line mode of operation. Both co-exist and do not interfere with each other as presented in detail below.

Going from off-line to on-line (cf. also Fig. 7), the computer device 15 breaks the direct physical connection 4 between the public switched telephone network 14 and the private telephone network 11 by means of commands to a relay or similar mechanism (not shown) in the device C 32 by replacing the connection with one to circuitry 34 in device C 32.

Power for both device B 31 and device C 32 is received from the computer device 15 by means of an interconnection between the computer device and device B 31 using a Universal Serial Bus (USB) 25. The wiring of the private telephone network 11 is used as a means of carrying the power to the device C 32. An alternative means of power supply is to use a separate connection to either device B 31 or device C 32. Such a power connection can be implemented by ordinarily skilled artisan. Whichever the case, one feeds the other via the telephone network. This will not interfere with the public switched telephone company, as device C 32 has disconnected the direct connection from the private telephone network from the public switched telephone network by means of a relay or a similar circuitry (not shown) and replaced it by a circuitry (not shown) passive towards the public switched telephone network 14.

Furthermore, when going from off-line to on-line, a communication path 72 is established between the telephones 40, 41 , 42, 43, ...4x and the computer device 15's adapter A 30. In this way, traffic is redirected to the computer device 15 (as opposed to the off-line mode's traditional direct connection to the public switched telephone network 14). Also, when going from off-line to on-line, a communication path 76 is established between the computer device 15 and the computer network 18 via the public switched telephone 24 network 14 by means of communication between circuitry 34 in device C 32 and circuitry 33 in the device B 31 in such a way, that this traffic does not interfere with voice traffic, e.g. wireless, sideband, xDSL, homePNA, or equivalent, and also from circuitry 33 of device B 31 to the computer device 15 by connection 6 to the computer device 15's modem device M 17. This way, the computer device 15 occupies the public telephone company's termination point POTS 13 with computer network traffic.

The following description covers the three general configurations of the system when the computer device 15 is powered up and controlling the operation.

These configurations cover: (a) an incoming public switched telephone network call, (b) an incoming computer network telephone call, and (c) an outgoing call over either network. Reference should be made to Fig. 6 as necessary.

a) Incoming Public Switched Network Call (Conventional Call)

During this, the public telephone company's termination point POTS 13 (the telephone line) is busy with communication between the computer 16 and the computer network 18. Provided the user subscribes upon a "call forwarding" or similar service in the public switched telephone network 14, the call will automatically be rerouted to a local IP Gateway (not shown). Here conventional voice is converted to Voice over IP and forwarded via the computer network 18 to the computer device 15.

Signals from the computer network 18 are received by device C 32 and retransmitted to device B 31 via the private telephone network on frequencies other than those used for normal voice communication by conventional telephones in order to avoid interference between the two. This communication is accomplished by circuitry 34 of device C 32 and by circuitry 33 in device B 31. Circuitry 33 of device B 31 regenerates the signals in their original form as received by circuitry 34 in device C 32 and retransmits these via connection 6 to the computer device 15. The computer device 15 regenerates the analog voice signals in the computer 16 and the adapter 30 by a combination of hardware and software outside the scope of this invention, and transmits the voice signals via connection 2 to device B 31. Device B 31 passes the voice signals unchanged to the private telephone network 11 allowing the call and conversation to be received from any of the telephones 40, 41 , 42, 43, ... 4x. 25

Thus, when a user receives an incoming call from the Public Switched Network 14, while any of the telephones 40, 41 , 42, 43, ... 4x are not being used, the operation of the telephones will be, as if they were connected directly to the public switched telephone network as though the telephony network/computer network interconnection system 12 was now present and as if the computer device 15 was not occupying the line with computer network traffic.

In an alternative implementation, the communication between the circuitry 33 and circuitry 34 may be replaced by a wireless connection 7 replacing the need for using the private telephone network 11. In yet an alternative implementation, the connection 7 may by ordinary telephone wire.

b) Incoming Network Call ("Born" Voice over IP).

The public telephone company's termination point POTS 13 (the telephone line) is busy with communication between the computer 16 and the computer network 18.

Signals from the computer network 18 are received by device C 32 and retransmitted to device B 31 via the private telephone network on frequencies other than those used for normal voice communication by conventional telephones in order to avoid interference between the two. This communication is accomplished by circuitry 34 of device C 32 and by circuitry 33 in device B 31. Circuitry 33 of device B 31 regenerates the signals in their original form as received by circuitry 34 in device C 32 and retransmits these via connection 6 to the computer device 15. The computer device 15 regenerates the analog voice signals in the computer 16 and the adapter 30 by means outside the scope of this invention by a combination of hardware and software, and transmits the voice signals via connection 2 to device B 31. Device B 31 passes the voice signals unchanged to the private telephone network 11 allowing the call and conversation to be received from any of the telephones 40, 41 , 42, 43, ... 4x.

Thus, when a user receives an incoming call from the Public Switched Network 14, while any of the telephones 40, 41 , 42, 43, ... 4x are not being used, the operation of the telephones will be, as if they were connected directly to the public switched telephone network as though the telephony network/computer network interconnection system 12 was now present and as if the computer device 15 was not occupying the line with computer network traffic. 26 c) Outgoing Public Telephone Network or Computer network Call

A call is initiated from any of the telephones 40, 41 , 42, 43, ... 4x. The telephone signals are forwarded via the private telephone network 11 and received by the device B 31. The received data are passed on unchanged to the adapter A 30 of the computer device 15. Now, by a combination of hardware and software outside the scope of this invention, the telephone signals are converted in the computer device 15 to Voice over IP. Furthermore, software is available, which allow the digitized voice signals to be forwarded to an IP Gateway local to the receiving end enveloped in a TCP/IP communication between the computer device 15 and the computer network 18. The digitized data are forwarded to an adapter M 17 of the computer device, typically an internal or external modem.

The modified telephone signals are received on connection 4 by device B 31. Device B 31 passes the data to device C 32 either by means of the private telephone network 11 or by means of a dedicated connection 7. This communication is accomplished by by circuitry 33 in device B 31 and circuitry 34 of device C 32. Circuitry 34 of device C 32 regenerates the signals in their original form as received by circuitry 33 in device B 31 from the adapter M 17 and hence retransmits the data to the public switched telephone network 14 via the connection to the public telephone company's termination point POTS 13 for forwarding to the computer network 19.

d) Simultaneous use of two or more telephones Fig. 9 depicts an alternative preferred implementation, and illustrates in details how two telephones may simultaneously be used for computer network communication, one of which has to be directly connected to the computer device while the remaining are connected as described in the preferred embodiment presented above.

The description focuses upon where the two deviate and should be seen in that context. The directly connected telephone 90 is connected via connection 9 to another adapter A2 35 of the computer device 15. Adapter A2 has the same functionality, as the one stipulated previously for the adapter A 30. Furthermore, the computer 16 requires two incarnations of the software required for generating TCP/IP traffic from the digitized voice signals as received from device A 30 (and device A2 35) to be executed simultaneously, 27 each dedicated only one specific of the connections. Such incarnations may be activated by any ordinary artisan skilled in working with computers.

Firstly, any one of the telephones 40, 41 , 42, 43, ...4x of the private telephone network 11 may make an outgoing call, whether or not the directly connected telephone 90 via connection 9 is active. This call takes place similarly to how it is described in (a) and (b) above.

Secondly, the telephone 90 may make outgoing calls whether or not any one of the telephones 40, 41 , 42, 43, ...4x of the private telephone network 11 are active. These are made and handled by the adapter A2 35 and computer 16 identical to how the adapter A 30 and computer 16 handles outgoing calls. The remaining handling by software and communication between the computer 16 and the computer network 18 is identical to the one described in (a) and (b) except that it is handled by a dedicated incarnation of software in the computer 16 other than the one handling the parallel communication with one of the remaining telephones.

Thirdly, receiving calls may be received by only an unused directly connected telephone 90, or by any or the remaining telephones 40, 41 , 42, 43, ...4x, provided none of these are already busy in an outgoing telephone or computer communication. In either case, a software incarnation similar to the one described in (c) will be required to be executed in the computer 16 to serve the incoming call. Furthermore, the communication path between the computer device 15 and the computer network 18 will be as described in (c) above.

In yet a variant implementation (not illustrated, but very similar to Fig. 9), more than one telephone may be directly connected to the computer 16 and by the same means, each interconnected to a dedicated adapter An (not shown) with the same facilities and served similarly to how the single telephone 90 is being served in the computer 16 by a dedicated separate incarnation of software similar to that serving signals to and from telephone 90, and sharing the computer 16 to computer network 18 connection. The device B 31 will have to be augmented with circuitry similar to the circuitry serving the one directly connected telephone for each additional directly connected telephone and with a connection to an adapter An of the computer device 15. Each of the directly connected telephones may perform outgoing calls independent of each other and similarly to a single 28 directly connected telephone 90 as previously described. Furthermore, provided each incoming call is being uniquely identified, multiple computer network conversations may be active at a given point in time.

Thus, according to the present invention is provided a telephony network/computer network interconnection system which allows for two or more connections to be performed simultaneously, e.g. to allow for a modem connection as well as an ordinary telephone connection at the same time while still maintaining the service level, stability and connectivity of traditional telephone calls and computer network connections. This is preferably obtained by changing the frequency of one of the communication signals in order to avoid interference between the signals.

Further, a method for operating a telephony network/computer network interconnection system is provided, the method comprising a "call forwarding" possibility, that is a possibility of the system automatically forwarding incoming calls.

Claims

29CLAIMS

1. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system comprising at least one telephone being connected to at least one private telephone network, each telephone being capable of performing traditional telephony as well as computer network telephony,

- at least one computer device,

- first communication means for establishing a connection between the at least one private telephone network(s) and the at least one computer device(s), and a first public communication network, second communication means for establishing connections between the at least one private telephone network(s) and the at least one computer device(s), wherein said first communication means is capable of accommodating two or more connections between said at least one private telephone network(s) and/or said at least one computer device(s), and said first public communication network at the same time, so as to allow for two or more telephone calls/computer network connections to be performed simultaneously, while still maintaining the service level, stability and connectivity of traditional telephone calls and computer network connections.

2. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to claim 1 , further comprising a second public communication network and third communication means being capable of establishing a connection between the at least one computer device(s) and said second public communication network.

3. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to claim 1 or

2, wherein the first public communication network comprises a public switched telephone network.

4. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first communication means is an analog telephone line.

5. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of claims 2-4, wherein the first and/or the second public communication network comprises a global computer network. 30

6. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of claims 2-5, wherein the first and/or second public communication network comprises a private computer network.

7. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to claim 1 , wherein the first public communication network comprises a global computer network.

8. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to claim 1 , wherein the first public communication network comprises a private computer network.

9. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a first communication device being able to communicate with the first public communication network and the at least one private telephone network(s), and - a second communication device being able to communicate with the at least one computer device(s), the at least one private telephone network(s) and said first communication device, wherein said first communication device is able to establish a direct connection between said second communication device and the first public communication network so as to allow simultaneous transmission of two or more telephone calls and/or computer network connections between the one or more telephone(s) and/or the one or more computer device(s), and the first public communication network.

10. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to claim 9, wherein the first communication device comprises means for changing the frequency of a first communication signal being received by the first communication device so as to avoid interference between said communication signal and a second communication signal being simultaneously received by the first communication device, thereby allowing said first and second communication signals to be transmitted simultaneously via the first communication device and the first communication means.

11. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to claim 10, wherein the first communication signal is a computer network telephone call and the second communication signal is a traditional telephone call. 31

12 A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of claims 1-8, further comprising a first communication device being able to communicate with the first public communication network and the at least one private telephone network(s), and 5 - a second communication device being able to communicate with the at least one computer devιce(s), the at least one private telephone network(s) and said first communication device, wherein said second communication device is able to establish a connection between said second communication device and the second public communication network so as 10 to allow simultaneous transmission of two or more telephone calls and/or computer network connections between the one or more telephone(s) and/or the one or more computer devιce(s), and the second public communication network

13 A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to claim 12, 15 wherein communication with the first public communication network is a direct and an active connection only for traditional telephony to or from any one of the telephones, while the second public communication network is used for computer network communication including computer network telephony

20 14 A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of the preceding claims comprising at least two telephones being interconnected via the at least one private telephone network(s), each telephone being capable of performing traditional telephony as well as computer network telephony independently of the other telephone(s)

25 15 A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of claims 9-14, wherein the second communication device comprises power supply means for supplying power to at least part of the telephony network/computer network interconnection system

30 16 A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the telephones of at least one of the at least one private telephone network(s) are interconnected in a random tree structure

17 A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of the 35 preceding claims, further comprising one or more telephones being directly connected to 32 one or more of the at least one computer device(s), the system further allowing telephone calls between one or more of said telephone(s) and the first public communication network to be performed while still maintaining the service level, stability and connectivity of traditional telephone calls and computer network connections. 5

18. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of the preceding claims, the system being controlled by one or more of the computer device(s) through at least one of the at least one private telephone network(s).

10 19. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of the preceding claims, the system allowing one or more of the at least one private telephone network(s) to be switched between a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and a computer device, so as to in the first case allow conventional telephony, and in the second case allow for two or more telephone calls/computer network connections to be

15 performed simultaneously, while still maintaining the service level, stability and connectivity of traditional telephone calls and computer network connections.

20. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to claim 19, wherein the switching between the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and the

20 computer device is controlled by one of the at least one computer device(s) of the interconnection system.

21. A telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the at least one computer device(s) is a

25 personal computer.

22. A method of operating a telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of claims 1-21 , the method comprising the steps of

- the first communication means establishing a first connection between one of the at 30 least one telephone(s) or at least one computer device(s), and a public communication network,

- the first communication means establishing a second connection between another one of the at least one telephone(s) or at least one computer device(s), and a public communication network, the establishment of said second connection not causing

35 said first connection to be interrupted, and 33 simultaneously transmitting a first communication signal via said first connection and a second communication signal via said second connection.

23. A method according to claim 22, wherein one or more of the computer devices perform a conversion of the first connection from traditional telephony to computer network telephony, in which form it is handled when two or more telephone calls/computer network connections are active.

24. A method according to claim 22 or 23, wherein the step of establishing a second connection comprises the step of changing the frequency of the second communication signal, so as to avoid interference between said first communication signal and said second communication signal.

25. A method according to any of claims 22-24, further comprising the step of the first communication means converting an analog signal of a telephone call into a digital signal before transmitting said signal.

26. A method according to claim 25, wherein said digital signal is a signal according to the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

27. A method of operating a telephony network/computer network interconnection system according to any of claims 9-21 based upon the use of standard telephony signaling as used between a traditional telephone and a public switched telephone network for controlling "call forwarding" and "call forwarding on busy" to forwarding incoming telephone calls to an IP Gateway for converting the incoming traditional telephony to computer network telephony, the method comprising the steps of automatically redirecting incoming telephone calls in the public switched telephone network destined to one of the telephone(s) connected to the telephony network/computer network interconnection system by, as part of establishing a computer network communication, issuing the appropriate commands to the public switched telephone network, automatically resetting, canceling the call forwarding, or by reestablishing the state of the call redirection to its prior state, when the computer network communication is terminated, from either of the computer device(s), the second communication means, or one of the communication devices. 34

28. A method according to claim 27, wherein the call is redirected to an IP Gateway in a global computer network, the IP Gateway performing conversion between traditional telephony and computer network telephony.

5

29. A method according to claim 27, wherein the call is redirected to an IP Gateway in a private computer network, the IP Gateway performing conversion between traditional telephony and computer network telephony.

10 30. A method according to any of claims 27-29, further comprising the step of retaining power for a time interval in case the power supply of the telephony network/computer network interconnection system is lost, the time interval being sufficiently long so as to enable performing the signalling to the public switched telephone network required for reestablishing the call forwarding state.