Source: https://patents.justia.com/patent/9781272
Timestamp: 2019-08-22 13:13:29
Document Index: 450318343

Matched Legal Cases: ['arty 102', 'arty 112', 'arty 112', 'arty 112', 'arty 112', 'arty 112', 'arty 112', 'arty 112', 'arty 102', 'arty 112', 'arty 102', 'arty 102', 'arty 102', 'arty 112', 'arty 102', 'arty 112', 'arty 102', 'arty 102', 'arty 112', 'arty 112', 'arty 112', 'arty 102', 'arty 112']

US Patent for System and methods for enhanced multimedia in VoIP networks Patent (Patent # 9,781,272 issued October 3, 2017) - Justia Patents Search
Justia Patents Indication Or Notification Of MessageUS Patent for System and methods for enhanced multimedia in VoIP networks Patent (Patent # 9,781,272)
Oct 27, 2016 - AT&T
FIG. 1 depicts a messaging system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Messaging system 100 includes one or more calling parties 102a, 102b, . . . , 102N in communication with a caller application server 104 through a network 106. Caller application server 104, in turn, has access to and/or is in communication with one or more routing databases 108, which has access to and/or is in communication with Unified Messaging (UM) platform 110. Caller application server 104 and UM platform 110 are also in communication with one or more called parties 112a, 112b, . . . , 112N through network 114. Called parties 112a-N are also in communication with messaging server 116 through network 114.
As described herein, “in communication with” describes connection between components (e.g., calling parties 102a-N, caller application server 104, routing database 108, UM platform 110, called parties 112a-N, messaging server 116, etc.) that can transmit signals and/or information to each other using any appropriate protocol and combination of wired and/or wireless communication techniques (e.g., VOIP, wired, IP, etc.).
Calling parties 102a-N are users of call origination equipment such as wired telephones, wireless telephones, and the like. Similarly, called parties 112a-N are users of call reception equipment such as wired telephones, wireless telephones, and the like. Herein, the terms calling parties 102a-N and called parties 112a-N are used to describe both the human users of the call origination/reception equipment and the physical equipment that is enabled to perform the functions described below. Though described separately as call originators and call receptors or terminators, it is understood that calling parties 102a-N could be receivers of calls and called parties 112a-N could be originators of calls, as in a conventional telephony network.
Networks 106 and 114 are any appropriate calling network, such as a circuit switched network (e.g., PSTN) or packet switched network (e.g., Internet). Network 106 is associated at least with calling parties 102a-N, which originate calls, and may thus be referred to as an origination network. Similarly, network 114 is associated with called parties 112a-N and may thus be referred to as a terminating network.
For diagrammatical simplicity, networks 106 and 114 have been shown as separate entities. It is understood that networks 106 and 114 may, in some embodiments, be the same network. Similarly, network 106 and/or network 114 may include one or more of calling parties 102a-N, caller application server 104, routing database 108, UM platform 110, called parties 112a-N, and/or messaging server 116. Thus, the various components of messaging system 100 may, in some embodiments, be used interchangeably and/or substitutionally to perform the method steps described below with respect to FIG. 3.
UM platform 110 is any appropriate unified messaging system that integrates different streams of communications (e.g., email, SMS, facsimile, voice, video, etc.) into a single interface, accessible from a variety of different devices. UM platform 110 receives, stores, and/or forwards such streams to calling parties 102a-N and/or called parties 112a-N regardless of network.
Messaging server 116 is a server or similar platform capable of receiving, storing, and/or forwarding messages. In at least one embodiment, messaging server 116 is a UM platform. In the same or alternative embodiments, messaging server 116 is associated with network 114 and is a message recipient server for called parties 112a-N. That is, messaging server 116 is a voicemail server for called parties on a particular network or service provider.
In step 304, a caller (e.g., calling party 102a) places a call to a called party (e.g., called party 112a). Such a call may be placed over one or more networks 106 and/or 114.
In step 308, application server 104 performs a routing query. In at least one embodiment, application server 104 performs an ENUM query (e.g., via routing database 108) to determine one or more alternate contacts (e.g., email address, etc.). That is, application server 104 leverages the original routing information (e.g., a telephone number) about the called party 112a to determine if additional routing information is stored at routing database 108 and/or another location. In at least one embodiment, the application server 104 performs the query to locate an acceptable URI for the called party 112a.
If acceptable alternate routing information is found, the call is forwarded to called party 112a via network 114 and is tagged with an indication that the call should not be forwarded to the voicemail application and server of called party 112a should the call not be answered. In at least one embodiment, the call is tagged in the session initiation protocol (SIP). The “msg-taker” service is indicated as an unacceptable contact with Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) request for comments (RFC) 3841 “Caller Preferences for SIP,” for example. Generally, the indication that the call should not be forwarded may be specified by indicating that the call must not fork (e.g., by utilizing the “no-fork” directive of IETF RFD 3841).
In step 314, a determination is made as to whether the call has been answered by the called party 112a. If the call has been answered, the method ends at step 324. Otherwise, the method proceeds to step 316 and the application server 104 transfers the call to a local messaging platform. In at least one embodiment, the call is transferred to a unified messaging platform 110 that is associated with network 114. In an alternative embodiment, the call is transferred to another local messaging server, such as messaging server 116. As the call is transferred to the messaging platform, an indication is provided that the enhanced messaging feature has been enabled, as in step 306, along with an indication of the originally dialed telephone number (e.g., the telephone number of called party 112a). In at least one embodiment, the indication is provided via a custom header or header parameter in a session initiation protocol (SIP). The call may be moved to the local messaging system via “Call Forwarding” on the Application Server/Feature Server. In at least one embodiment, this may occur for several reasons including “ring no answer”, “busy”, etc.
In the local messaging platform (e.g., UM platform 110, etc.), the call is connected from the calling party 102a to the called party 112a and a new message is created in step 318. That is, calling party 102a creates a message with content that has been previously stored or may provide links to such content. The calling party 102a creates the content by recording a message (e.g., at messaging server 116, etc.) and optionally associating additional stored information with the message. The calling party 102a may also interact with the messaging platform via dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) or via voice commands.
In step 320, the local messaging platform determines alternate contact information for the called party 112a. In at least one embodiment, UM platform 110 performs an ENUM query (e.g., at routing database 108) to determine any existing contact preference (e.g., email, MMS, etc.) established by the calling party 102a and/or the called party 112a. In some embodiments, the calling party 102a is prompted for contact handling preference. Contact handling preferences allow the calling party 102a to indicate what content is forwarded to the called party 112a and whether links to such content is forwarded to the called party 112a. This content may be stored at any appropriate location in messaging system until retrieved by the called party 112a and/or altered by the calling party 102a.
In step 322, the local messaging platform delivers the enhanced message to the called party 112a using the preferred contact information determined in step 320. The method ends at step 324.
a memory to store computer program instructions, the computer program instructions when executed on the processor cause the processor to perform operations comprising: receiving from a caller a call that has not been answered by an intended recipient, wherein the call is associated with routing information; creating an enhanced message comprising a message recorded by the caller and a link to previously stored additional content; determining alternate contact information associated with the intended recipient based on the routing information; and transmitting the enhanced message to the intended recipient based on the alternate contact information.
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Patent Publication Number: 20170048391
Application Number: 15/336,403
International Classification: H04M 3/42 (20060101); H04M 3/53 (20060101); H04M 3/533 (20060101); H04M 7/00 (20060101); H04L 29/12 (20060101);