Patent ID: 6229803
Filing Date: 2001-05-08
Classification: H04L,H04M,H04Q

Abstract:
A method of operating a provider agent software interface between a telephony card and a session manager, wherein the telephony card is operational to interwork between analog telephony signals over a plurality of telephony channels and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) signals over a plurality of ATM virtual connections in response to interwork instructions, wherein the telephony card is operational to detect on-hook events, off-hook events, and digit events and to provide event messages, wherein the telephony card is operational to provide dial tone, ringback, and busy signals in response to tone instructions, wherein the session manager is operational to transmit and receive invite messages, reply messages, join messages, confirm messages, and terminate messages, the method comprising:(a) receiving an off-hook event message for a first channel from the telephony card, and in response, transmitting a dial tone instruction for the first channel to the telephony card;(b) receiving a plurality of digit event messages for the first channel from the telephony card, and in response, transmitting an invite message indicating a dialed number for the first channel to the session manager;(c) receiving a reply message for the first channel from the session manager indicating an alerting condition, and in response, transmitting a ringback tone instruction for the first channel to the telephony card;(d) receiving a join message for the first channel from the session manager, and in response, transmitting an add stream message for the first channel to the session manager; and(e) receiving a confirm message for the first channel from the session manager, and in response, transmitting a first interwork instruction for the first channel to the telephony card to interwork a telephony signal on the first channel with an ATM signal on a selected virtual channel for the first channel.