Abstract:
A method is provided in a telecommunications network for clandestinely providing a transmission relay service (TRS) to a called party ( 30 ). The method includes: receiving a first call from a calling party ( 10 ), the first call being received at a network node ( 40 ) serving a called party ( 30 ) for which the first call is intended; detecting the called party ( 30 ) answering the first call; and, determining whether or not to invoke a feature ( 44 ) supported by the network node ( 40 ). If it is determined that the feature ( 44 ) is to be invoked, then the method further includes: reserving a bridge; placing a second call to a relay center ( 50 ) supporting the TRS; obtaining an acknowledgement from the relay center ( 50 ) that an operator ( 52 ) at the relay center ( 50 ) is ready to participate in the first call; and, in response to obtaining the acknowledgement, completing the reserved bridge between the calling party ( 10 ) and the relay center ( 50 ), and establishing a TRS link between the relay center ( 50 ) and the called party ( 30 ).

Description:
FIELD 
     The present inventive subject matter relates to the telecommunication arts. Particular application is found in conjunction with certain types of telecommunications relay service (TRS) and/or particular telecommunication networks, and the specification makes particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that aspects of the present inventive subject matter are also amenable to other like applications and/or networks. 
     BACKGROUND 
     As is generally known in the art, a Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) is a telephone service that allows a person with a hearing and/or speech impairment to place and/or receive telephone calls. A TRS will typically use an operator (referred to herein as a CA or communications assistant) situated at a relay center to facilitate telephone calls between hearing and/or speech impaired individuals and other call participants. In practice, a TRS call may be initiated by either the person with the hearing and/or speech impairment, or by the other individual or party to the call (e.g., a non-impaired individual). When a person with a hearing and/or speech impairment initiates a TRS call, that person often may use a TTY (i.e., a teletype or teletypewriter or text telephone—also referred to sometimes as a TTD or Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) or other text input device to call the TRS relay center, and gives a CA at the center the number of the party that he or she wants to call. The CA in turn places an outbound traditional voice call to the specified person. The CA then serves as a link or intermediary for the call, relaying the text of the calling party in voice to the called party, and converting to text what the called party voices back to the calling party. Alternately, when the other party (i.e., the non-impaired individual) wishes to call a hearing and/or speech impaired individual, the calling party initiates the call by calling the TRS relay center, e.g., usually by dialing or otherwise calling a toll-free or other designated number. The calling party then provides the CA with the telephone number or other like address of the hearing and/or speech impaired individual they wish to contact, and the CA places a corresponding call to the specified number or address. Again, the CA serves as a link for the call—translating and/or converting text to voice and vice versa as the case may be for communications between the parties. 
     Video Relay Service (VRS) is a particular form of TRS that allows persons with hearing and/or speech impairments who use American Sign Language (ASL) or other form of manual communication to communicate with voice telephone users through video equipment, rather than through typed text. Typically, video equipment links the VRS user with a TRS operator or CA so that the VRS user and the CA can see and communicate with each other in signed or other similar conversation. Because the conversation between the VRS user and the CA can flow much more quickly as compared to a text-based TRS calls, VRS has become a popular form of TRS. 
     Generally, VRS (like other forms of TRS) allows persons who are hearing and/or speech impaired to communicate through the telephone system with other persons, e.g., that may not be so impaired. The VRS caller, using a television or a computer with a video camera device and a broadband or high speed Internet connection, contacts a VRS CA, who is a qualified sign language interpreter. For example, the hearing and/or speech impaired individual may uses a videophone or other video device, such as a webcam, to connect via broadband Internet to the VRS. In any event, the impaired caller and CA are free to communicate with each other in sign language or the like through the established video link. The VRS CA then places a traditional voice telephone call to the party that the VRS user wishes to call. Once the traditional voice leg of the call has also been established, the VRS CA relays the conversation back and forth between the parties, e.g., in sign language with the VRS user, and by voice with the called party. Alternately, a voice telephone user can also initiate a VRS call by calling a VRS center, usually through a toll-free or other designated number. As with the text based TRS, the calling party then provides the CA with the number or other like address of the hearing and/or speech impaired individual they wish to contact, and the CA attempts to establish a corresponding video link to the specified number or address. Again, once the hearing and/or speech impaired party is connected, the CA serves as an intermediary for the call—translating and/or converting sign language to voice and vice versa as the case may be for communications between the parties. 
     While generally helpful, traditional VRS and/or TRS have some drawbacks and/or limitations. For example, the impaired individual and/or other call participant may feel apprehensive or uncomfortable if the other call participant knows a third party (i.e., the CA) is privy to the conversation. Accordingly, one solution to this problem is to use what is known as Voice Carry Over (VCO). 
     When VCO is implemented in a VRS and/or TRS call, the impaired individual is allowed to use their own voice in the communication with the other call participant. In particular, VCO is a type of TRS that allows a person, e.g., with a hearing impairment, but who wants to use his or her own voice, to speak directly to the other call participant and receive responses in text and/or sign language from the CA. For example, this type of service is particularly useful to individuals who may have impaired hearing, but who can still speak adequately. Accordingly, when the VCO user initiates a call to the relay center, the caller may inform the CA not to alert the other call participant (i.e., the called party) to the presence of the CA, and because VCO is being used, when the call is established with the other call participant, the called party will only hear the voice of the caller (not the CA), while response and/or other communications from the called party to the caller are relayed by the CA to the caller in sign language or text. In this manner, any potential “uneasiness” is alleviated insomuch as the called party remains unaware that the CA is privy to the conversation. 
     However, VCO is generally only an adequate solution when the impaired individual initiates the call. This is because when the non-impaired individual or voice telephone user initiates the call, generally they place a call to the relay center by dialing or otherwise calling a toll-free or other designated number and then providing the CA with the number or address of the impaired person they wish to contact. Accordingly, the calling party in this instance is likely to be well aware of the CA&#39;s involvement in the call, even if VCO is ultimately employed by the called party. 
     Accordingly, a new and improved system and/or method for providing VRS and/or TRS in a telecommunications network is disclosed that overcomes the above-referenced problems and others. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with one embodiment, a method is provided in a telecommunications network for clandestinely providing a transmission relay service (TRS) to a called party. The method includes: receiving a first call from a calling party, the first call being received at a network node serving a called party for which the first call is intended; detecting the called party answering the first call; and, determining whether or not to invoke a feature supported by the network node. If it is determined that the feature is to be invoked, then the method further includes: reserving a bridge; placing a second call to a relay center supporting the TRS; obtaining an acknowledgement from the relay center that an operator at the relay center is ready to participate in the first call; and, in response to obtaining the acknowledgement, completing the reserved bridge between the calling party and the relay center, and establishing a TRS link between the relay center and the called party. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, a system is provided in a telecommunications network for clandestinely providing a transmission relay service (TRS) to a called party. The system includes: means for receiving a first call from a calling party, the first call being received at a network node serving a called party for which the first call is intended; means for detecting the called party answering the first call; means for determining whether or not to invoke a feature supported by the network node; means for reserving a bridge; means for placing a second call to a relay center supporting the TRS; means for obtaining an acknowledgement from the relay center that an operator at the relay center is ready to participate in the first call; means for completing the reserved bridge between the calling party and the relay center; and, means for establishing a TRS link between the relay center and the called party. 
     Numerous advantages and benefits of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The inventive subject matter may take form in various components and arrangements of components, and in various steps and arrangements of steps. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting. Further, it is to be appreciated that the drawings are not to scale. 
         FIG. 1  is box diagram showing an exemplary telecommunications network suitable for practicing aspects of the present inventive subject matter. 
         FIG. 2  is flow chart showing an exemplary process suitable for practicing aspects of the present inventive subject matter. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     For clarity and simplicity, the present specification shall refer to structural and/or functional elements, entities and/or facilities, relevant communication standards, protocols and/or services, and other components that are commonly known in the telecommunications and/or networking arts without further detailed explanation as to their configuration or operation except to the extent they have been modified or altered in accordance with and/or to accommodate the preferred embodiment(s) presented herein. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , there is shown an individual or calling party  10  that has access to end user equipment (UE)  12  which is operatively connected in the usual manner to a telecommunications network  20 , e.g., a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a wireless or cellular network, an Internet Protocol (IP) or Voice over IP (VoIP) network, or some combination thereof. In practice, the UE  12  is optionally a voice telephone or other like end user telecommunications device that the calling party  10  employs to selectively place calls over the network  20 , e.g., via an end office or originating node (not shown) that provides the UE  12  access to the network  20 . 
     Also shown is an individual or called party  30  (e.g., a hearing and/or speech impaired individual) that has access to end user equipment (UE)  32  which is also operatively connected to the network  20  in the usual manner. More specifically, the called party  30  is provided access to the network  20  via an end office or terminating node  40 . For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the end office or terminating node  40  is equipped with a telecommunications switch  42  to which the UE  32  is operatively connected in the usual manner. Optionally, the switch  42  may be a class 5 telecommunications switch (such as the 5ESS available from Alcatel-Lucent) or some other application appropriate telecommunications switch or network access device which is operatively connected to the network  20  in the usual manner. 
     Suitably, the UE  32  includes a voice telephone or is otherwise equipped and/or provisioned with voice telephone features, capabilities and/or amenities. Additionally, UE  32  suitably includes appropriate equipment and/or provisioning that provides the called party  30  access to a TRS and/or VRS supported by a relay center  50  that is optionally manned by one or more operators or CAs, such as the exemplary CA  52  shown in  FIG. 1 . More specifically, in an exemplary embodiment, the UE  32  may optionally include: a TTY or the like that supports text-based TRS access to the relay center  50  by the called party  30 , and/or suitable video equipment (e.g., such as a video camera, webcam or other like video input device and/or a monitor, television or other video display or suitable video output device) that supports a video link between the relay center  50  and the called party  30 . For example, the UE  32  may include a videophone or otherwise be equipped and/or provisioned with videophone features, capabilities and/or amenities. Optionally, a video link is selectively established between the UE  32  and the relay center  50  in the usual manner via a broadband, high-speed or other appropriate connection over a data or packet switched network (e.g., such as the Internet  60 ) or another suitable network. In practice, the UE  32  may be a single unitary piece of equipment or alternately a plurality of pieces of equipment acting in concert to achieve the desired functions and/or results. 
     For the purposes of simplicity and/or clarity herein, only a single calling party  10  and a single called party  30  have been illustrated. However, it is to be appreciated that in practice, typically, a plurality of similar parties are likewise arranged and/or served by the network  20 . 
     Generally, the present inventive subject matter relates to a telecommunications service and/or feature (indicated generally by reference numeral  44  in  FIG. 1 ) whereby the called party  30  is able to benefit from the aid of a TRS (or more specifically a VRS) utilizing VCO without the calling party  10  being alerted to the participation of the operator or CA  52  at the relay center  50 . That is to say, the feature  44  allows the called party  30  to clandestinely access and/or utilize telecommunications and/or video relay services with VCO for incoming calls. In the illustrated embodiment, the feature  44  is implemented as an application administered from and/or supported at the terminating node  40 , e.g., by the switch  42 . Alternately, however, the feature  44  may be implemented, supported in and/or administered from elsewhere in the network  20 . 
     With additional reference to  FIG. 2 , an exemplary operation of the feature  44  will now be described. 
     At step  100 , the calling party  10  employs the UE  12  to place a call to the called party  30 . Suitably, this is achieved, for example, by the calling party  10  simply dialing or otherwise entering the called party&#39;s usual telephone or directory number on their UE  12 . Accordingly, the call is routed in the normal manner over the network  20  to the terminating node  40  serving the called party  30 , i.e., the node  40  to which the called party&#39;s UE  32  is operatively connected. 
     Upon receiving the call for the called party  30 , the node  40  or switch  42  will alert the corresponding UE  32  of the called party  30  in the usual fashion, and at step  102 , the node  40  or switch  42  detects the called party  30  answering the call. For example, upon the called party  30  answering the call with the UE  32 , the UE  32  will return an off-hook or other similar signal or message to the node  40  or switch  42 . 
     At step  104 , it is determine if the feature  44  is to be invoked or triggered for the particular call in question. Suitably, for a called party in general to be able to access or utilize the feature  44 , they have to subscribe to the feature  44 . Subscription information is optionally maintained in a subscriber database (DB)  46  or other suitable location. The subscription information indicates, e.g., who subscribes to the feature  44  and/or for which subscribers the feature  44  is activated. The subscription information also optionally includes a list of potential calling parties (e.g., identified by telephone number, name, and/or otherwise) for each subscriber. This list may include those calling parties that are excepted from feature invocation (i.e., an exception list), or alternately, those calling parties for which the feature  44  is to be invoked (i.e., an inclusive list). Accordingly, to determine if the feature  44  is to be invoked or triggered, the DB  46  is optionally queried and/or accessed to see if the called party  30  subscribes to the feature  44  and/or to see if the feature  44  is active for the called party  30 . Additionally, using automatic number identification (ANI) or a similar service or feature, the telephone number or identity of the calling party  10  is optionally obtained. The identity of the calling party  10  is then able to be cross-referenced against the subscriber&#39;s list of potential calling parties in DB  46  to determine if the feature  44  should be invoked or triggered for this particular call. For example, if the subscriber has set-up or designates the list as an “exception” list, then the feature  44  is invoked or triggered for all incoming calls to a subscriber from any identified calling party not on the subscriber&#39;s list, or alternately, if the subscriber has set-up or designated the list as an “inclusive” list, then the feature  44  is invoked or triggered for only those incoming calls to the subscriber from an identified calling party on the subscriber&#39;s list. Yet another option is to have the feature  44  manually invoked or triggered. For example, the called party  30  may optionally dial or enter a feature code or otherwise select an activating button or depress a key or sequence of keys on the UE  32  to indicate that they wish to invoke the feature  44  for the incoming call that was just answered. Accordingly, the UE  32  will then signal or otherwise send a suitable message to the node  40  or switch  42  to invoke or trigger the feature  44 . 
     If at step  104  it is determined that the feature  44  is not to be invoked or triggered, then the process branches to step  106  and the call is completed and/or otherwise handled in the normal manner. Otherwise, if at step  104  it is determined that the feature is to be invoked or triggered, then the process continues on to step  108 . 
     At step  108 , a bridge is reserved and an outgoing call is placed from the node  40  or switch  42  to the telephone or directory number of the relay center  50  serving the called party  30 . 
     At step  110 , when the operator or CA  52  at the relay center  50  answers the call placed in step  108 , a prerecorded announcement or message is played explaining the service being requested and the privacy treatment desired. For example, the announcement or message may optionally indicate that the feature  44  has been invoked for the called party  30  and that it is requested that the CA  52  join the call clandestinely to provide the called party  30  with TRS or VRS using VCO. Suitably, a message playback or announcement resource  48  provisioned at or accessible by the node  40  and/or switch  42  is utilized to provide the aforementioned announcement or message. Optionally, the CA  52  acknowledges the request by dialing or entering a suitable response code, which then generates a suitable acknowledgement signal and/or message that is returned to the node  40  or switch  42 . 
     At step  112 , in response to the returned acknowledgement signal and/or message, the node  40  and/or switch  42  completes the bridge (optionally silently), thereby connecting the CA  52  at the relay center  50  with the calling party  10  so that the CA  52  can hear the calling party&#39;s voice communication and translate or convert them to sign language or text as the case may be. Additionally, at step  114 , the appropriate connection is established between the CA  52  at the relay center  50  and the called party  30  depending on the particular type of TRS being used. For example, if VRS is being employed in a particular application, then an appropriate video link is suitably established to the called party&#39;s UE  32  from the relay center  50  as described above. Alternately, if text-base TRS is being employed in a particular application, then an appropriate connection to the called party&#39;s TTY or other like device (e.g., included in the UE  32 ) is likewise established from the relay center  50 . Accordingly, the called party  30  is able to view the sign language provided by the CA  52  or received the text provided by the CA  52 —in either case, which correspond to the translated or converted voice communications from the calling party  10 . Moreover, since VCO is suitably being utilized in connection with the TRS or VRS being provided, voice communications from the called party  30  are therefore routed to and/or received by the calling party  10 . In this manner, the calling party  10  remains unaware that the called party  30  is employing the TRS or VRS assistance or that the CA  52  is privy to the conversation being had by the parties. 
     It is to be appreciated that in connection with the particular exemplary embodiments presented herein certain structural and/or function features are described as being incorporated in defined elements and/or components. However, it is contemplated that these features may, to the same or similar benefit, also likewise be incorporated in other elements and/or components where appropriate. It is also to be appreciated that different aspects of the exemplary embodiments may be selectively employed as appropriate to achieve other alternate embodiments suited for desired applications, the other alternate embodiments thereby realizing the respective advantages of the aspects incorporated therein. 
     It is also to be appreciated that particular elements or components described herein may have their functionality suitably implemented via hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof. Additionally, it is to be appreciated that certain elements described herein as incorporated together may under suitable circumstances be stand-alone elements or otherwise divided. Similarly, a plurality of particular functions described as being carried out by one particular element may be carried out by a plurality of distinct elements acting independently to carry out individual functions, or certain individual functions may be split-up and carried out by a plurality of distinct elements acting in concert. Alternately, some elements or components otherwise described and/or shown herein as distinct from one another may be physically or functionally combined where appropriate. 
     In short, the present specification has been set forth with reference to preferred embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the present specification. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.