CN1244061C - Method and device for communicating over a network - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for establishing communication between at least two devices over a network (122) includes a processor (120a) that receives a telephone number portion (50) from a first device (124) that identifies a second device (128). A processor (120a) converts the telephone number portion (50) into a multi-level domain name (96) that includes the converted telephone number portion. The processor (120a) optionally appends any required prefixes or suffixes to generate the complete multi-level domain name (110). Once the complete multi-level domain name is generated, communication is established with a second device (128).

Description

Method and device for communicating over a network

technical field

This invention relates to network addressing on the Internet and intranets. The invention finds particular application in translating telephone numbers into multi-level domain names, thereby enabling communication functions of devices on the network. It should however be realized that further application of the invention may be found in private user networks or public networks using private user protocols or internet protocols.

Background technique

In the beginning, only numbers were used as network addresses on the Internet. These numbers are called Internet Protocol numbers, or IP addresses for short. These numbers have virtually no meaning and are difficult to remember.

Later, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) established the domain name system, and each domain name will use a more understandable and meaningful name to designate an IP address. For example, "IBM.COM" is a domain name that routes users to a specific IP number or address, such as 198.81.209.2 (an IP address for IBM). Internet users all over the world now find themselves using such Internet domain name registration systems, which are a central part of one's own presence on the Internet.

A domain name typically consists of a name, followed by a "." (dot) or separator, and a top-level domain (TLD), such as "COM", "NET" or "ORG".

This domain name system makes addresses easier for users to remember, however, the Internet domain name registration system currently faces several problems, for example, the limitation of Internet domain name provision. On the Internet, only one company can own or register any given name, such as COMPUTERS.COM. Obviously other TLDs could be used such as COMPUTERS.NET, COMPUTERS.ORG, but these choices are considered inferior to COMPUTERS.COM. The second problem is the high cost of Internet domain names. The exclusivity of domain names has led to the explosion of the Internet domain name market, with some domain names reportedly being sold for millions of dollars. Likewise, current monopolies and/or a limited number of domain name registrants have made all domain names more expensive.

The second problem is that currently Internet domain names take 72 hours to activate. This creates problems for users who need to build their sites quickly. Also, once registered, an Internet domain name is fixed. Changing even one letter from the original domain name becomes the new domain name and must be registered again. Registering a domain name incurs additional costs, and new domain names may not be available. In fact, a cottage industry, or virtual registry, of domain name registration has arisen because they anticipate that eventually someone will want and pay for the domain name they register. With regard to the convergence of the Internet and telephone networks, "inflexibility" is becoming a growing problem.

One attempted solution to some of the problems described above is the subdirectory-based domain name system known as the "forward slash method". For example, a company such as REALTOR.COM would add the name of a REAL ESTATE AGENT to the end of the forward slash-separated string, REALTOR.COM/here is the name of the AGENT. This connects the AGENT to an inexpensive website as it is part of the large company REALTOR.COM. There is theoretically no limit to how many forward slashes are appended to the end of each string. However, this approach also has disadvantages, such as:

A. Not IP addressable - this means that individual "websites" have no option to have individual and/or shared IP addresses. The only option is to share the IP address with the primary domain holder.

B. Time Delay—If the Site passes the User on to another Site, the User must wait for the process to complete.

C. Longer addresses - When using the "forward slash" method, addresses are almost always longer, which creates more problems:

1. Longer addresses add complexity to the user as there are more letters to enter and errors are more likely to occur.

2. Longer address is difficult to communicate with other people, such as the radio playing said "login REALTOR point COM, forward slash, here is the name of AGENT, forward slash, CITY."

3. It is too difficult to remember without writing it down, and pen and paper are not always at hand.

D. Lack of singularity—Companies using the forward slash method need to use a single name associated with a particular subsite, which does not duplicate the subsite name, because each name can only be used once. In practice, this method It is difficult.

Due to the success of the Internet and the ubiquity of the telephone, commercial communications vehicles such as advertisements, printed matter, business cards, etc. must include Internet addresses and telephone numbers. Using both types of information not only produces more information to remember, but also clutters up the design of the newsletter.

The problems above have prompted some companies to use phone numbers in their domain names. The use of telephone numbers in Internet domain names is not new. The methods used by the companies below are strictly limited to very specific applications or companies.

While people have started to join the Internet, some companies have slowly begun to integrate phone numbers into Internet addresses. Few individuals and/or organizations have registered actual dialable telephone numbers as Internet domain names.

Probably the most popular phone number/Internet domain is "1-800-FLOWERS.COM". This is a natural application for this company, since this is their company name and their phone number. In general, this approach again suffers from the disadvantages of Internet domain name numbers as described above. Of interest is the fact that only a single subdomain is used, namely "1-800-FLOWER". In particular, this method has a higher cost than the forward slash method, and has the additional problem of lack of potential usability. Additional issues with this approach, discussed more fully below, make them suitable for network providers. Other similar names are "WWW.411.COM" or "WWW.1-800-555-1212.COM," which are similarly competitive.

The present invention contemplates the use of improved methods and apparatus for network addressing systems which include telephone numbers as part of the address.

Contents of the invention

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method is provided, comprising:

receiving a telephone number portion arranged in a sequence corresponding to a telephone number sequence, wherein the telephone number portion identifies a device;

converting the telephone number portion into a static multi-level domain name for identifying devices on the network, the multi-level domain name comprising the telephone number portion and a base portion, wherein the telephone number portion of the multi-level domain name corresponds to the sequential arrangement of the telephone number sequence and is the next level of said essential part;

and

Communication with the device is established on the network through the static multi-level domain name.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of communicating over a network, comprising:

receiving from the first device at least a portion of a static multi-level domain name arranged in an order corresponding to a phone number sequence, wherein the static multi-level domain name includes a phone number portion identifying the second device;

determining the availability of the second device on the network; and

In response to said determining step, communication is selectively established from the first device to the second device.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for establishing communication between at least two devices on a network, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving part of a telephone number identifying a device;

for converting the telephone number portion into a static multilevel domain name identifying a device on the network, the multilevel domain name comprising the telephone number portion and the base portion arranged in an order corresponding to the order of the telephone number; and

means for establishing communication with said device over said network via said multi-level domain name.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method includes receiving a portion of a telephone number identifying a device with which communication is desired. The phone number portion is translated into a multi-level domain name, which statically represents the device in the network. Part of this multi-level domain name is the received phone number part. Communication with the device is then established over the network.

According to another aspect of the invention, said transforming step includes adding a domain name separator to the received telephone number portion at a determinable position in said received telephone number portion.

According to another aspect of the present invention, said received telephone number portion includes a delimiter, and said transforming step includes parsing the received telephone number portion against the delimiter and inserting the domain name delimiter therein.

According to another aspect of the present invention, additional domain name levels are appended to the converted telephone number portion to complete the multi-level domain name.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for establishing communication between at least two devices on a network includes a processor that receives a portion of a telephone number from a first device to identify a second device. The processor then converts the telephone number portion into a static multi-level domain name sufficient to identify the second device on the network.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further includes a table matching the static multi-level domain name with an IP address.

An advantage of the present invention is the ability to have Internet domain names that are meaningful and at the same time more economical than conventional applications.

Another advantage of the present invention resides in the ability to convert Internet addresses and telephone numbers in communications compactly and economically.

After reading and understanding the detailed description of the following preferred embodiments, other advantages of the present invention will be further apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Description of drawings

The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangements of these parts, and in certain steps and arrangements of steps. The drawings are only for illustrating preferred embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention.

Figure 1 is a general representation of a typical network addressing system or domain name structure;

Figure 2 is an example of a US phone number;

Figure 3 is the phone number in Figure 2 converted into a multi-level domain name;

Fig. 4 is a flow chart, has specifically described the logical flow that is suitable for implementing the present invention; And

Fig. 5 is a pictorial description of device connections on the network provided by the present invention.

Detailed ways

As used herein, an Internet telephone number or numbering system is defined as a domain name or group of domain names that enable network addressing systems using telephone numbers or Internet/intranets.

A telephone number portion is defined herein at least as a portion of a telephone number which may include exchange codes, area codes and/or country codes. Phone numbers usually have incrementally increasing geographic attributes, often with a general attribute section before the more deterministic section, (i.e. country codes before area codes, area codes before exchange codes, etc.). According to the present invention, a telephone number portion is translated or represented as a static multi-level domain name, where the specific order is not important. That is, the received phone numbers can be rearranged in any order, as long as they are similarly arranged or determined by the company, it will not affect the main scope of the object of the present invention in essence.

As used herein, the terms resource, object and/or device shall refer to any variably addressable device interconnected by various variably networks. For example, devices that may supplement the present invention include, without limitation, computers, storage devices, output devices, telephones, personal information organizers, laptops, palmtops, or watch-based computers, among others. Interconnected networks include, without limitation, intranets, or the Internet, wireless and/or wired telephone networks, public or private networks, networks employing wireline, infrared, optical or electromagnetic connections, and the like.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an existing domain name structure is illustrated, which structure includes a base level domain name (BLD) 10 . The base-level domain name 10 is sometimes called the top-level domain name or the first-level domain name. It has nothing to do with the IP address itself, but is only a logical grouping used to distinguish countries (such as .US, .CA, UK, .HK, etc.); schools (such as .EDU); the US Military (eg. MIL); the US Government (eg. .GOV); corporations (eg. COM or .ORG) and ISPs (eg. .NET). These base level domain names manage any queries to second level subdomain names 12 . The second-level subdomain name 12, when used in connection with the BLD 10, is usually associated with an IP address. Examples of second-level domain names are IBM as used in IBM.COM, or OSU as used in OSU.EDU. The second level domain name 12 generally manages any queries to the third level subdomain name 14 . The third level sub-domain name 14, when used with 2LD 12 and BLD10, is also usually associated with an IP address. An example of a third-level subdomain is SUPPORT as used in SUPPORT.IBM.COM. The third level subdomain 14 generally manages any queries to the fourth level subdomain 16 . Fourth level subdomain names 16, when used with 3LD14, 2LD12 and BLD10, are usually associated with IP addresses. Some examples of fourth-level subdomains are PC or AIX as used in PC.SUPPORT.IBM.COM or AIX.SUPPORT.IBM.COM. The fourth level subdomain name 16 typically manages queries to the next lower level domain name 18 and so on. Nth level domain names 18 represent any and all higher level domain names, where N represents an integer interval of higher level domain names (ie 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...). All domain names can contain words or phrases, which consist only of letters, numbers and dashes (a...z, 0...9, 'one').

All domain name levels 10-18 are separated by "dot", which is domain separator 30. This separator 30 is used to designate administrative control of higher level domain names to lower level domain names below them. A complete domain name consists of two parts: a domain name segment 34 and a base level segment 38 . Base-level segment 38 includes a BLD 10, and includes any number of upper-level subdomains. Some examples of base-level segments 38 are single-level segments (eg, .COM, .NET) and multi-level segments (eg, IBM.COM; ABC.DEF.ORG; ONE.TWO.THREE.FOUR.FIVE.SIX.NET). A domain name segment is any group of one or more discrete 'names' separated by dot 30, which does not contain BLD10. Some examples of domain name segments are single-level segments (eg, ABC, IBM, TELENUMBER) and multi-level segments (eg: ABC.DEF:SUPPORT.IBM; ONE.TWO.THREE.FOUR.FIVE.SIX, etc.). These segments, when combined, form the complete domain name. Domain name tree 42 is any number of domain name segments 34 , with base level segments 38 appended.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the telephone number portion 50 is imported for translation into single or multi-level domain name segments 34, at any location in any existing domain name tree 42, allowing segments to be grafted onto the tree 42. Translation of the telephone number portion 50 includes reducing the number into separate pieces 52, 54, 56, 58 according to the number's natural separators 70, 72, 74 (eg dashes, brackets, dots, etc.). These separators 70, 72, 74 are replaced by domain name separators 30 and the separated pieces 52, 54, 56, 58 become domain names and subdomain names.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the multi-level domain names resulting from the paths illustrated in FIG. 2 are shown. The phone number portion 50 is parsed against the delimiters 70, 72, 74, and assuming a left-to-right scan, the delimiters will be replaced similarly from left to right. Thus the separator 70 in FIG. 2 becomes the domain name separator 80 in FIG. 3 . The separators 72, 74 of FIG. 2 are similarly replaced by the domain name separators 82, 84 of FIG.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, the addition of additional domain name levels to the converted or translated telephone number portion 50 (FIG. 2) is also illustrated. In the illustrated example, an additional subdomain "TELENUMBER" 90 and a top-level domain ".COM" 92 are added in order to complete the multilevel domain name with respect to the particular web server. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that domain name levels can be appended anywhere in a multi-level domain name without necessarily breaking away from the concepts of the present invention. Also, further domain names or sub-domain names may be used for other country codes, area codes, telephone exchange codes, and the like.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is illustrated an exemplary process by which the telephone number portion of FIG. 2 is converted into, for example, the portion of FIG. The user enters a query or domain name, which includes a telephone number portion, suitable for identifying a target or desired device on the network, as seen in step 100 . Ambiguity is introduced at this point after the processor has determined where to put the domain name separator 30. In the illustrated embodiment, ambiguities may be resolved, as seen from decision block 102, depending on whether the user entered a delimiter into their query. If so, the processor then replaces the user-entered system separators 70, 72, 74 (manually or according to some predetermined protocol) with the domain name separator 30, as seen in step 106, and as shown in Figures 2 and 3 as stated. On the other hand, if no domain name separator entered by the user is detected, or if a sufficient number of system separators are not included, as determined by decision block 102, then based on stored user data (e.g., in a cookie, or other predetermined protocol), the domain name separator 30 will be inserted at a predetermined position, as illustrated in step 108, based on assumptions made by the specific protocol in use, or information between a certain number of digits, etc.

In step 106 or step 108 to replace the domain name separator, there are similar multi-level domain names. The processor can then optionally add any desired prefixes or suffixes to generate a complete multi-level domain name, or can require based on known factors, as seen in step 110 . For example, an initiating user may omit, for example, the country code of their target or desired device. In this case, the processor will identify that too few subdomains in the address are insufficient or ambiguous, and replace or supplement the originating user's country code. Similar additions can be made via suffixes (eg autocompletion of base level domain names) if desired. The target device is then queried over the network on the resulting multi-level domain name, as seen in block 112 . If the target device is available, it will respond in a similar manner at which point communication can be established between the source and target devices, as seen in step 114 .

Referring now to FIG. 5, a generic system 120 is shown coupled to a network 122 for suitably implementing the present invention. Device 124 is connected to server 120 . The processor 120A in the server receives the phone number portion 50 ( FIG. 2 ) from the device 124 , addressed to identify the second device 128 . Processor 120A converts the telephone number portion into static multi-level domain name 96 (FIG. 3), identifying second device 128 over the network. For purposes of illustration, device 128 is illustrated as being connected to network 122 through its own server, however several other interconnections are envisioned and implemented with equivalent devices. Processor 120A determines whether a system separator is present and, as discussed above, generates a full multi-level domain name 96 suitable for identifying device 128 . In this example, the full multi-level domain name 96 is then optionally converted in memory 120B to a standard IP address. At the location of the translated IP address, the target device 128 is then queried and, if available, the query is responded to. The details of routing packets through the network and setting up the session along with routing through the network are known to those of ordinary skill in the art and are handled in a conventional manner here.

The invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding this specification. It is our intention to cover all such modifications and changes that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims (13)

1. A method comprising: receiving a telephone number portion arranged in a sequence corresponding to a telephone number sequence, wherein the telephone number portion identifies a device; converting the telephone number portion into a static multi-level domain name for identifying devices on the network, the multi-level domain name comprising the telephone number portion and a base portion, wherein the telephone number portion of the multi-level domain name corresponds to is sequentially arranged in the order of telephone numbers and is the next level of said basic part; and Communication with the device is established on the network through the static multi-level domain name. 2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said base portion of said multi-level domain name includes a base-level domain name. 3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said transforming step comprises: A domain separator is added to the received telephone number portion at a determined position of the received telephone number portion. 4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said received telephone number portion includes a delimiter, said converting step comprising: parsing said received phone number portions arranged in an order corresponding to the phone number sequence with respect to delimiters; and Inserts a domain name separator for the parsed separator. 5. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising: The multi-level domain name is completed by adding additional domain levels to the transformed portion of the telephone numbers arranged in an order corresponding to the order of the telephone numbers. 6. A method of communicating over a network, comprising: receiving from the first device at least a portion of a static multi-level domain name arranged in an order corresponding to the order of the telephone numbers, wherein the static multi-level domain name includes a portion of the telephone number identifying the second device; determining the availability of the second device on the network; and In response to said determining step, communication is selectively established from the first device to the second device. 7. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising: Communication is established from the second device to the first device. 8. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein said step of determining availability comprises: query a second device on the network; and A response is received from the second device indicating the availability of the second device. 9. An apparatus for establishing communication between at least two devices on a network, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving from a first device a portion of a telephone number identifying a second device; means for converting the telephone number portion into a static multi-level domain name identifying a second device on the network, the multilevel domain name comprising the telephone number portion and the base portion arranged in an order corresponding to the order of the telephone number; and means for establishing communication with the second device over the network via the multi-level domain name. 10. Apparatus as recited in claim 9, further comprising means for establishing communication with a second device over the network. 11. The apparatus as recited in claim 9, further comprising a table for matching said static multi-level domain name with an IP address. 12. The apparatus as recited in claim 9, said apparatus further comprising means for adding domain name separators to said received telephone number portion at determinable positions thereby generating said static multi-level domain name. 13. The apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein said received telephone number portion includes a delimiter, and wherein said apparatus further comprises means for dividing the received telephone number portion relative to the delimiter character is parsed and a domain name separator is inserted for the parsed separator.

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