Method and apparatus for accessing a network computer to establish a push-to-talk session

Abstract

A wireless phone user registered for push-to-talk (PTT) services desires a push-to-talk session with a party on a network computer accessible via a public data network (like the Internet) that is not registered with any PTT service. The registered user enters a unique identifier, as a destination address for such computer, and a PTT server uses the unique identifier to query a Directory Service available on the public data network to obtain a PTT address for the destination computer. The PTT server then forwards or proxies the PTT request to the destination computer. As a result, the number of push-to-talk destinations available to the wireless phone user is expanded to include any number of push-to-talk enabled computers available on the Internet that are known to the Directory Service.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10 / 302,882 filed Nov. 25, 2002, pending, entitled “Method And Apparatus For Correlating A Unique Identifier, Such As A PSTN Telephone Number, To An Internet Address To Enable Communications Over The Internet,” which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09 / 456,646, filed Dec. 8, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,539,077, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09 / 226,901 filed Jan. 8, 1999, now abandoned, and a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09 / 092,764 filed Jun. 5, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,292,799, to which priority is claimed and which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to communications services, and in particular to the extension of a wireless push-to-talk (PTT) service to include communication with any number of network computers, not registered for PTT service, but accessible by a public data network like the Interne...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a system and method for a push-to-talk service to access a directory service on a public data network, such as the Internet, through a wireless operator's PTT server. This allows any number of network computers to be reached without needing to register with the PTT server. The unique identifier of the destination network computer is recorded with the push-to-talk address and associated unique identifier of the directory service. The PTT server sends a request for a PTT session to the destination network computer, which then sends a response indicating whether it is available to accept the session. The unique identifier can be a fixed or variable length name or number, with a # prefix. The invention also includes a means for querying the directory service to obtain the PTT address for initiating a PTT session with a destination network computer. The technical effect of the invention is to expand the number of push-to-talk destinations available to the wireless phone user by accessing a directory service on the public data network."

Problems solved by technology

Initiating a push-to-talk session to a mobile / wireless user who is not available simply results in a negative response tone.

What it cannot do, however, is establish a push-to-talk session with a push-to-talk enabled computer that is not registered with any operator's PTT service.

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