Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7729345?dq=patent:6161142
Timestamp: 2014-07-13 13:01:46
Document Index: 381915218

Matched Legal Cases: ['arty 20', 'arty 20', 'arty 20', 'arty 20', 'arty 20', 'arty 20', 'arty 20', 'arty 20', 'arty 20', 'arty 20', 'arty 20', 'arty 20']

Patent US7729345 - Scalable voice over IP system providing independent call bridging for ... - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsAn IP telephony gateway and a user interface resource enable a subscriber to place an outgoing call according to the voice over IP (H.323) protocol to a destination party from a user interface session of an intelligent dial tone service such as voice activated dialing, and resume the user interface session...http://www.google.com/patents/US7729345?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7729345 - Scalable voice over IP system providing independent call bridging for outbound calls initiated by user interface applicationsAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7729345 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/155,498Publication dateJun 1, 2010Filing dateJun 20, 2005Priority dateJan 7, 2000Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS6735288, US6930999, US6954518, US20050232250Publication number11155498, 155498, US 7729345 B2, US 7729345B2, US-B2-7729345, US7729345 B2, US7729345B2InventorsJames Alan Craig, Kelly Wycall Phillips, Narasimha K. NayakOriginal AssigneeCisco Technology, Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (22), Non-Patent Citations (3), Classifications (36), Legal Events (2) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetScalable voice over IP system providing independent call bridging for outbound calls initiated by user interface applicationsUS 7729345 B2Abstract An IP telephony gateway and a user interface resource enable a subscriber to place an outgoing call according to the voice over IP (H.323) protocol to a destination party from a user interface session of an intelligent dial tone service such as voice activated dialing, and resume the user interface session upon completion of the outgoing call with the destination party. The IP telephony gateway establishes a user interface session for the subscriber with the user interface resource across a first Real Time Protocol (RTP) data stream. The user interface resource initiates a second RTP data stream to a destination party in response to reception of a prescribed command from the subscriber. Although an RTP bridge connecting the first and second RTP data streams can be maintained by the user interface resource, the user interface resource may also use the Empty Capability Set feature in the H.323 standard to cause the IP telephony gateway to close the first and second RTP data streams to the user interface resource. The user interface resource then issues Non-Empty Capability Set messages to the IP telephony gateway for the first and second RTP data streams, causing the IP telephony gateway to internally bridge the first and second RTP data streams. The user interface resource monitors connections between the subscriber and the destination party, and upon detecting a disconnect by the destination party causes the IP telephony gateway to resume the user interface session, by repeating the sequence of sending Empty Capability Set and Non-Empty Capability Set messages to the IP telephony gateway to break down the bridge and re-establish the connection between the subscriber and the user interface resource.
26. The system of claim 18, wherein the means for establishing is configured for causing the connecting based on the need for establishing bridging together the first and second RTP data streams. Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 09/606,692, filed Jun. 30, 2000 and having issued on Aug. 16, 2005 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,930,999, which is a continuation-in-part of commonly-assigned, application Ser. No. 09/479,235, filed Jan. 7, 2000, having issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,735,288, the disclosure of which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference.
Another example of limited scalability in a user interface application involves voice activated dialing applications, where the subscriber relies on speech recognition resources within an interactive voice response unit to initiate an outgoing call in response to a spoken command. For example, a subscriber accessing the interactive voice response unit may utter the phrase �call mom� to initiate a call to a number preprogrammed by the subscriber; the interactive voice response unit, in response to receiving the phrase �call mom�, interprets the phrase and accesses the preprogrammed number in order to initiate an outgoing call for the subscriber. As described above, however, such applications are severely limited to a telephony component (such as an integrated voice response unit integrated with a telephony switch) having specialized resources programmed by switch vendors, hence lack scalability for wide scale deployment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION There is a need for enhanced IP-based communication services that enable a services subscriber to utilize a user interface application, such as a unified messaging application or a voice activated dialing application, for initiating an outgoing call from the user interface application, and return to the user interface application upon completion of the outgoing call, while maintaining a single voice over IP connection with the user interface application.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The disclosed embodiment is directed to an arrangement for initiating an outgoing call by a user interface application on a voice over IP connection, and returning the subscriber to the user interface application upon call completion. In particular, the disclosed embodiment expands upon the teachings of the above-incorporated application Ser. No. 09/479,235 by enabling any user interface application, for example a voice mail system as disclosed in the above-incorporated application Ser. No. 09/479,235, an IP-based voice activated dialing application, or an IP based call switching center, to initiate an outgoing call and return the subscriber after call completion. Hence, user interface applications can be deployed as scalable subscriber services within an IP network.
The user interface resource 14 is configured for accessing a subscriber database 24 for execution of call commands supplied by the subscriber 20 a. In particular, the subscriber database 24, implemented for example as an IMAP message store or an LDAP directory, is configured for storing prescribed commands that may be preprogrammed by an administrator, or customized by the subscriber. For example, the subscriber 20 a may interact with the user interface application 14 for storage of prescribed names and telephone numbers. In addition, the user interface application 14 includes a speech recognition resource (not shown) and an interactive voice response resource having intelligent call control capabilities, enabling the subscriber to initiate an outgoing telephone call by uttering a command such as �call Mom�, or by speaking the telephone number to be dialed.
According to the disclosed embodiment, the user interface resource 14 initiates bridging of the RTP audio streams of the two call legs 22 a and 22 b while maintaining control of both legs. Hence, a subscriber 20 a may suspend his or her session with the user interface resource 14 and call the destination party 20 b and then return to the user interface resource 14 upon completion of the call with the destination party 20 b. The user interface resource 14, in response to receiving a call request from the subscriber 20 a via the RTP stream 16 a in step 32, utilizes speech recognition resources in step 34 to interpret the call request. The user interface resource 14, in response to determining that the request is for initiating an outgoing call, interprets any spoken number within the call request to identify the destination number in step 36, or alternately obtains in step 38 the destination number from the list of stored numbers in the subscriber database 24 based on the spoken name interpret by the speech recognition resource. The user interface resource 14 then initiates in step 40 a second RTP data stream 16 b to the destination party 20 b based on the destination number obtained from steps 36 or 38. As part of the call setup and establishment of the second RTP stream 16 b, the user interface resource 14 communicates with the H.323 resource within the IP telephony gateway 12 and stores the H.245 protocol capabilities (e.g., what codec to use, port number for sending media streams, etc.) from the IP telephony gateway 12 for the outbound call 22 b in step 44. The IP telephony gateway 12 then establishes a connection via the call leg 22 b and the second RTP stream 16 b between the destination party 20 b and the user interface resource 14, enabling the user interface resource 14 to determine whether the first RTP stream 16 a and the second RTP stream 16 b should be bridged.
FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment for redirecting RTP streams to perform outbound calls with return capability. Upon detecting across the H.245 channel that the IP telephony gateway 12 has established the call leg 22 b with the destination party 20 b, the user interface resource 14 a initiates its own RTP bridge 16 c to connect the first RTP data stream 16 a and the second RTP data stream 16 b. At this point the subscriber 20 a may converse with the destination party 20 b. Once a disconnect condition is detected on the call leg 22 b, the user interface resource 14 a terminates the bridge 16 c and continues the user interface session with the subscriber 20 a. One disadvantage of the arrangement in FIG. 1 is that the user interface resource 14 a needs to set up the bridge 16 c, transfer the media streams of RTP streams 16 a and 16 b across the bridge 16 c, and tear down the bridge 16 c upon completion of the call between the subscriber 20 a and the destination party 20 b; hence, the processing burdens on the user interface resource 14 a requires substantial central processing unit (CPU) resources, affecting the scalability of the system 10 a for a large number of subscribers.
Upon determining in step 46 a prescribed condition at the destination party 20 b, for example detecting an off hook condition or in response to a prompt whether to connect the destination party 20 b to the subscriber 20 a, the user interface resource 14 b initiates closing of the first RTP data stream 16 a and the second RTP data stream 16 b to the user interface resource 14 b in step 48, and initiates in step 52 the connection of the data streams 16 a and 16 b to form the RTP bridge 16 d. Specifically, the user interface resource 14 b in step 48 sends Empty Capability Set Messages for the RTP data stream 16 a and the RTP data stream 16 b via the H.245 channel 18 to the IP telephony gateway 12. According to H.323 protocol, if the IP telephony gateway 12 receives an Empty Capability Set Message (i.e., a capabilities message that does not specify capability information), the IP telephony gateway 12 is to reset and enter a Pause state. Hence, in response to receiving the Empty Capability Set Messages for the RTP streams 16 a and 16 b, the IP telephony gateway 12 in step 50 closes the RTP channels 16 a and 16 b to the user interface resource 14 and enters a pause state, releasing the user interface resource 14 b from the media streams 16 between the subscriber 20 a and the destination party 20 b. After dropping the RTP connections 16 a and 16 b between the IP telephony gateway 12 and the user interface resource 14 b, the user interface resource 14 b initiates in step 52 the formation of the RTP bridge 16 to connect the RTP data stream 16 a and the RTP data stream 16 b internally within the IP telephony gateway 12. Specifically, the user interface resource 14 b sends Non-Empty Capability Set Messages over the H.245 channels 18 for both the inbound call leg 22 a and the outbound call leg 22 b to the IP telephony gateway 12. The IP telephony gateway 12 in response connects the RTP media streams 16 a and 16 b according to H.323 protocol, effectively forming the RTP bridge 16 d, by resetting its H.245 state to an initialized state in step 54, performing Master Slave Determination in step 56, and Terminal Capabilities exchange in step 58; the IP telephony gateway 12 sends an Open Logical Channel (OLC) request in step 60, and the user interface resource 14 b responds in step 62 with an acknowledgment that includes media stream addresses specifying the RTP port numbers for the RTP streams 16 a and 16 b. The IP telephony gateway 12 thus connects (i.e., �hairpins�) the media streams 16 a and 16 b in step 64, effectively forming the bridge 16 d. Hence, the user interface resource 14 b redirects RTP streams through the IP telephony gateway 12 by sending Empty Capability Set messages to the H.323 resource module within the IP telephony gateway 12, causing the IP telephony gateway 12 to drop existing RTP streams between the IP telephony gateway 12 and the user interface resource 14 b; the user interface resource 14 b can then redirect the RTP data streams by sending Non-Empty Capability Set messages for both the inbound and outbound call legs 22 a and 22 b, enabling the IP telephony gateway 12 to use its resources in managing the call flow between the subscriber 20 a and the destination party 20 b. The user interface resource 14 b monitors the progress of the bridged call using the H.225/H.245 channel(s) 18. Upon detecting that the outbound call 22 b is dropped by the called party 20 b in step 66, the user interface resource 14 b reissues an Empty Capability Set Message for the inbound call leg 22 a in step 68, causing the IP telephony gateway 12 to break down the RTP bridge 16 d and enter a pause state. The user interface resource 14 b sends an acknowledgment on the outbound call leg 22 b in step 70 to clear the call, and repeats the process for setting up the RTP stream 16 a between the subscriber 20 a and the user interface resource 14 b in step 72 by sending a Non-Empty Capability Set message for the inbound call leg 22 a. According to the disclosed embodiment, a voice over IP based user interface system such as a voice-activated dialing application enables a subscriber to place an outbound call from a user interface session providing intelligent dial tone services, and then return to the user interface session after call completion. Use of the Empty Capability Set feature in the H.323 standard enables the redirect feature to be implemented in voice over IP systems with minimal effort. In addition, use of the voice over IP gateway to redirect the call and maintain the connections minimizes the resource requirements for the user interface system, providing scalability as the number of users are increased.
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