Patent Publication Number: US-2004047303-A1

Title: Apparatus, system and method for managing call requests in a communication network providing a plurality of communication services

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The invention relates in general to communication systems and more specifically to an apparatus, system and method for managing call requests in a communication network providing a plurality of communication services.  
       [0002] Communication systems are increasingly expanding to provide a wide variety of communication services to users. Some of the services currently available include Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Instant Messaging Service (MS), Voice Message Service (VMS) and push-to-talk (PTT).  
       [0003] Some communication techniques utilize packet networks to efficiently provide voice communication between two or more parties. One technique of providing voice communication includes converting audio information into packets that are transmitted over a packet network. VoIP service allows users to engage in a voice conversation over a data network using the Internet Protocol. The data network may be the Internet, an Intranet, or a managed network such as may typically be used by long distance and local service providers or Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Among other benefits, VoIP allows for easier and less expensive integration of new services and efficient system reconfiguration as well as lower transmission costs.  
       [0004] Voice communications over a packet network are often performed using a half duplex configuration. Half duplex allows transmission of information between parties in both directions but in only one direction at any particular time. A party to a half duplex voice call can, therefore, either listen or talk, but not both listen and talk at the same time. A system that provides half duplex voice communication over a packet network is a push-to-talk (PTT) system. PTT systems may utilize a packet network such as the internet to transmit packets corresponding to voice bursts in a voice call. PTT often provide a method for a caller to indicate a group to receive the call allowing for multiple parties to engage in the half duplex voice call.  
       [0005] Conventional half duplex voice systems utilizing packet networks are limited, however, in that unavailable members of the group that are not able to engage in the call at the time the call request is initiated do not have access to the information exchanged during the call. If a member has temporarily turned off their remote unit or is engaged in another call, that unavailable member is omitted from the call established between the caller and the other available members.  
       [0006] Therefore, an efficient apparatus, system and method for managing call requests in a half duplex voice communication system is needed.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007] In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a communication server manages call requests for half duplex voice communication over a packet network. Information associated with a half duplex voice call is delivered to unavailable members of the group through an alternate communication system. Packets corresponding to the half duplex voice call are converted to an alternate formatted message and delivered to the unavailable members of the group using the alternate communication service provided by the alternate communication system. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0008]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention.  
     [0009]FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method of managing call requests in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the invention.  
     [0010]FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method of delivering an alternate formatted message to unavailable members where the communication system includes a text message service and a voice mail service.  
     [0011]FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method of delivering a text message corresponding to a half duplex voice call in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0012] As explained above, conventional communication systems are limited in that users requesting a half duplex call over a packet network such as push-to-talk (PTT) service will not reach members of the desired group if the those members are currently unable to engage in the half duplex call. In accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the invention, an alternate communication service is used to deliver information to unavailable members of the group. Packets associated with the half duplex voice call are converted to an alternate formatted message and delivered to the unavailable members through one or more alternate messaging systems. The alternate communication service may be, for example, a text message service or voice mail service. In the exemplary embodiment, a voice mail service is used only if the unavailable member is not subscribed to a text messaging service.  
     [0013]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system  100  in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the invention. The various blocks depicted in FIG. 1 may be implemented using any combination of hardware, software, or firmware using known techniques in accordance with the teachings herein. Also, the various blocks illustrate an exemplary configuration and partition of functions. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the various functions and systems may be implemented in other suitable configurations. For example, at least a portion of the text messaging system may be implemented as part of the communication server.  
     [0014] A communication server  102  manages half duplex voice communications over a packet network  104  between users ( 106 - 114 ). The communication server  102  is a computer, server computer, processor or any combination of processors or computers configured to perform the management functions described as well as other management, control and switching tasks associated with the communication system  100 . In the exemplary embodiment, software running on the communication server  102  facilitates the overall functionality of the communication server  102  as well as the described functions. An example of a suitable communication server  102  is an enhanced multimedia resource (eMRS) server computer running a suitable operating system such as the Sun operating system. Voice information is exchanged between users by converting the audio voice information into packets, transmitting the packets in accordance with a required data packet protocol such as an Internet Protocol (IP), and converting the packets back into audio voice information. Half duplex communication provides communication in both directions between the parties to a call but allows communication in only one direction at any particular time. Therefore, each party to a half duplex call can receive and transmit information, but can not simultaneously transmit and receive. An example of a system and service providing half duplex communications over a packet network is a push-to-talk PTT system and service. Such services may utilize voice over internet protocol (VoIP) techniques to provide a half duplex communication link between two or more users. Suitable equipment for providing PTT service is manufactured by Lucent Technologies.  
     [0015] The communication server  102  includes at least the appropriate combination of software, hardware or firmware for interfacing to the packet network  104  and the alternate communication system ( 116 ,  118 ). In the exemplary embodiment, the communication server  102  includes a packet network interface  120 , a text message interface  124 , and a voice mail interface  126 . Although the interfaces  120 ,  124 ,  126  are depicted as separate blocks in FIG. 1, those skilled in the art will recognize that depending on the particular configuration and implementation of the communication server  102 , the interfaces  120 ,  124 ,  126  may share any number of resources such as hardware or software. For example, the software facilitating the interface functions of the packet network interface  120 , the text message interface  124 , and the voice mail interface  126  may run on the same processor within the communication server  102 . Further, in circumstances where one or more of the alternate communication systems ( 116 ,  118 ) is implemented as part of the communication server  102 , hardware and connections between the functional blocks may be minimized or eliminated.  
     [0016] The call manager  122  running on the communication server  102  performs the functions of managing calls as described herein. The call manager  122  may include any combination of hardware, software or firmware configured to exchange information with the various interfaces  120 ,  124 ,  126  and to control the appropriate equipment to facilitate the call management functions. An example of a suitable implementation of the call manager  122  includes running software on the communication server  102  to perform the functions described.  
     [0017] In the exemplary embodiment, the packet network  104  is the Internet and the packets are conveyed in accordance with the Internet Protocol (IP). The packet network  104 , however, may be any of several types of packet networks capable of facilitating the communications as described herein. An example of another suitable packet network  104  is an Intranet.  
     [0018] When initiating a half duplex voice communication call, the caller  106  may designate a group that includes users ( 108 - 114 ) that the caller  106  intends to include in a half duplex voice call. The group may include any number of members where, at the time of the call initiation, some members may be available members  108 ,  110  and some may be unavailable members  112 ,  114 . Available members  108 ,  110  are members of the group that are available and able to engage in the call and unavailable members  112 ,  114  are members unable to engage in the half duplex voice call at the time the call is initiated. Each group member may subscribe to one or more alternate communication services in addition to the half duplex voice communication service. In the exemplary embodiment, group members may subscribe to only a text message service ( 112 ), only a voice mail service ( 114 ), or both a text message service and a voice mail service. The text messaging service is provided by at least one text messaging system  116  and the voice mail service is provided by at least one voice mail system  118 . Each of the systems ( 116 ,  118 ) may be comprised of several systems or subsystems. For example, the voice mail system  118  may include two voice mail systems. In the exemplary embodiment, the text messaging system  116  is an Instant Messaging (IM) system. An example of a suitable IM service is the IM service provided by equipment available from Lucent Technologies.  
     [0019] In accordance with the exemplary embodiment, a call request initiated by the caller  106  is transmitted through the packet network  104  and received by the communication server  102  through the packet network interface  120 . As explained above, the call request is a request for a half duplex voice call over the packet network  104  that may designate a group of users  108 - 114  to receive the call. The call manager  122  receives the call request and determines if the members of the designated group are available. The call manager  122  identifies unavailable members  112 ,  114  and determines if those members  112 ,  114  subscribe to an alternate communication service. For each unavailable member  112 ,  114 , the call manager  122  converts the packets associated with the call to the appropriate alternate formatted message and forwards the message to the appropriate alternate communication system  116 ,  118  through the appropriate communication system interface  124 ,  126 . The alternate communication system  116 ,  118  delivers the alternate formatted message to the unavailable member  114 .  
     [0020]FIG. 2 is flow chart of a method of managing call requests for half duplex voice calls over a packet network  104  in accordance with exemplary embodiment of the invention. The method may be performed using any combination of software, hardware or firmware. In the exemplary embodiment, the method is performed by the call manager  122  by executing software executed within the communication server  102 .  
     [0021] At step  202 , a call request for a half duplex voice call over a packet network  104  is received where the call request indicates a group. The call request is initiated by a caller  106  and transmitted through the packet network  104  to the communication server in accordance with known techniques. The packet network interface  120  within the communication server  102  forwards the call request to call manager  122 .  
     [0022] At step  204 , the call manager  122  identifies members of the group. In accordance with known techniques, the call manager  122  interprets the data that indicates the group to identify the users  108  -  114  intended to participate in the half duplex voice call.  
     [0023] At step  206 , the call manager  122  determines if all of the members  108   114  of the group are available. A member is determined to be an unavailable member  112 ,  114  if the member is not currently able to engage in the half duplex voice call over the packet network  104 . If all members  108 - 114  are available, the method continues at step  208  where the half duplex voice call is continued. If at least one member  112 ,  114  of the group is identified as unavailable, the method continues at step  212 .  
     [0024] At step  212 , an alternate formatted message is delivered to the unavailable members  112 ,  114  of the group through an alternate communication service through an alternate communication system  116 ,  118 . The call manager  122  converts each of the packets associated with the voice call into an alternate formatted message. The alternate formatted message can be any message that is formatted in accordance with the requirements of the particular alternate communication system  116 ,  118 . Examples of alternate formatted messages include text messages such a IM messages and voice mail messages. The alternate formatted message is stored and delivered to the unavailable member  112 ,  114  when the unavailable member  112 ,  114  is able to receive the alternate formatted message.  
     [0025]FIG. 3 is a flow chart of method of delivering the alternate formatted message to the unavailable members where the communication system  100  includes a text message service and a voice mail service. Accordingly, the flow chart of FIG. 3 depicts a flow chart of an exemplary method for performing the delivering step  212  described in FIG. 2. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other methods can be used to deliver the alternate formatted message based on these teachings. For example, the alternate communication system ( 118 ) may only include a voice mail system  118 .  
     [0026] At step  302 , the call manger  122  determines if the unavailable members  112 ,  114  have text message service. If at least one of the unavailable members  112  subscribes to the text message service, the method continues at step  304 . If at least one of the unavailable members does not subscribe to the text message service, the method continues at step  314 . Therefore, if at least one unavailable member  112  subscribes to the text message service and at least one unavailable member  114  does not subscribe to the text message service, the method continues at both step  304 , and step  314 . In the exemplary embodiment, the text message service is an instant messaging (IM) service.  
     [0027] At step  304 , the call manager  122  collects packets corresponding to the voice call. During the voice call, the call manager  122  identifies the voice over IP corresponding to the voice call and temporarily stores those packets in memory to retain the talk burst information of the call. Each half duplex talk burst is collected to provide a collection of packets representing the voice call and the communications between all the parties to the call.  
     [0028] At step  306 , the call manager  122  converts the packets into text. In the exemplary embodiment, the collected packets are converted into the appropriate IM format required by the text messaging system  116 .  
     [0029] At step  308 , the text message is stored. Each formatted IM message is stored in memory in accordance with known techniques for storing text messages.  
     [0030] At step  310 , the call manager  122  determines if the half duplex voice call is complete. If the call is complete, a “Message Waiting” is set in the text message service for the unavailable members. If the call is not complete, the method returns to step  304  and continues to collect and convert packets into the text message as described above.  
     [0031] At step  314 , the call manger  122  determines if at least one of the unavailable members ( 114 ) that does not have text message service subscribes to the voice mail service. If no members subscribe to the voice mail service, the method continues the voice call at step  316 . Otherwise, the method continues at step  318 .  
     [0032] At step  318 , the packets corresponding to the voice call are converted into a voice mail format as required by the voice mail system  118 . The voice mail format may be a digital representation of an audio signal of the conversation in some circumstances.  
     [0033] At step  320 , the voice mail message is stored in memory. Any one of various known techniques can be used to store the audio corresponding to the communications between the parties of the call.  
     [0034] At step  322 , the call manager  122  determines if the call is complete. If the call is complete, the method continues to step  324  where the voice mail message including the conversation of the voice call is forwarded to the voice mail system. If the call is not complete, the method returns to step  316 . The call manager  122 , therefore, continues to convert the packets and store the resulting voice mail message for the duration of the half duplex voice call.  
     [0035]FIG. 4 is a flow chart of method of delivering the text message corresponding to the half duplex voice call in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the invention. The method is performed by the call manger  122  process in the communication server  102 in the exemplary embodiment.  
     [0036] At step  402 , the call manger  122  determines that the unavailable member is currently able to receive text messages through the text message service. In the exemplary embodiment, the call manager receives information indicating that the member has logged onto the system. The member may manually log on to the system or the member&#39;s device may automatically log on when the device is turned on.  
     [0037] At step  404 , the call manger  122  determines if the “Message Waiting” indicator is set for the particular unavailable member  112  currently able to receive text messages. If the indicator is not set, the method continues with the conventional text message process at step  406 . If the indicator is set, the method continues at step  408 .  
     [0038] At step  408 , the text message is delivered to the unavailable member. The call manager  122  retrieves the appropriate stored text message corresponding to the voice call missed by the unavailable member. The text message is forwarded to the text message system  116  which delivers the text message to the unavailable member  112  currently able to receive text messages.  
     [0039] In the exemplary embodiment, therefore, the communication server  102  receives a request for a PTT call and determines if all of the members of the group indicated in the request are available to engage in the PTT call. For members  112  subscribing to the IM service, the communication server, collects the packets corresponding to the talk bursts of the half duplex conversation between the parties, converts the packets into IM text messages and delivers the IM text messages to the unavailable members through the IM system when the unavailable member  112  can receive the IM text message. For unavailable member  114  not subscribing to the IM service and having voice mail service, the communication server  102  converts the packets of the PTT call into a voice mail format to form a voice mail message. The message is forwarded to voice mail system  118  allowing the unavailable member  114  to retrieve the message in accordance with known techniques. Unavailable members  112 ,  114  are, therefore, able to receive the information exchanged during the PTT call that would have otherwise been inaccessible in conventional systems.  
     [0040] Clearly, other embodiments and modifications of this invention will occur readily to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of these teachings. Therefore, this invention is to be limited only by following claims, which include all such embodiments and modifications when viewed in conjunction with the above specification and accompanying drawings.