Communication networks

• US 20030069934A1
• Filed: 08/12/2002
• Published: 04/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Suotula, Janne, Garcia-Martin, Miguel-Angel
• Granted Patent: US 7,792,906 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2272 Subscriber line supervision circuits, e.g. call detection circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/125 Details of gateway equipment

Abstract

A method of enabling a terminal 1,2 coupled to a GSTN 10 to join an Internet based presence service facilitated by a presence server 6. The method comprises establishing a telephone connection between said terminal 1,2 and an intermediate server 4 via the GSTN 10, as a result of said connection, establishing a proxy entity corresponding to said terminal 1,2 at said intermediate server 4 and registering the proxy entity with the presence server 6 via the Internet, and exchanging presence service messages between the presence server 6 and the proxy entity at the intermediate server 4 via the Internet and between the proxy entity and said terminal 1,2 via the GSTN network 10.

Claims

1. A method of enabling a terminal coupled to a GSTN to join an Internet based presence service facilitated by a presence server, the method comprising:

establishing a telephone connection between said terminal and an intermediate server via the GSTN;

as a result of said connection, establishing a proxy entity corresponding to said terminal at said intermediate server and registering the proxy entity with the presence server via the Internet; and

exchanging presence service messages between the presence server and the proxy entity at the intermediate server via the Internet and between the proxy entity and said terminal via the GSTN network.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the telephone connection between said terminal and an intermediate server comprise a circuit switched connection between the terminal and the intermediate server.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the connection between said terminal and an intermediate server is provided by an exchange of SMS messages.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the presence service messages relate to the availability of subscribers of the presence service.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the presence service messages are used to convey instant messages such as text messages and multimedia messages.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein for instant messages originating at the GSTN terminal, the intermediate server performs a translation between voice and text, and for messages destined for the GSTN terminal the intermediate server performs a translation between text and voice.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein, following the establishment of said proxy entity said telephone connection is terminated and, in the event that the proxy server needs to send a presence service message to said terminal, a call is made to the terminal to establish a connection over the GSTN.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein said proxy server has a knowledge of a GSTN telephone number at which said terminal can be reached.

15. A user terminal arranged to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 8, 10, 11, 13, and 14.

9. A server arranged to enable a terminal coupled to a GSTN network to join an Internet based presence service facilitated by a presence server, the server comprising:

means for establishing a telephone connection with said terminal via the GSTN network;

first processing means for establishing a proxy entity corresponding to said terminal and registering the proxy entity with the presence server via the Internet; and

second processing means for exchanging presence service messages with the presence server via the Internet, and with said terminal via the GSTN network.

10. A method of enabling a terminal coupled to a GSTN to access multimedia services available over an IP network, the method comprising:

establishing a telephone connection between said terminal and an intermediate server;

as a result of said connection, establishing a proxy entity corresponding to said terminal at the intermediate server and registering the proxy entity with a multimedia server via the IP network;

exchanging multimedia call control messages between the multimedia server and the proxy entity at the intermediate server, wherein the intermediate server interprets received call control messages to set up multimedia calls to the GSTN terminal.

11. A method according to claim 10, where the multimedia server is a SIP server, with SIP call control messages being exchanged between the multimedia server and the proxy entity at the intermediate server.

12. A server arranged to enable a terminal coupled to a GSTN to access multimedia services available over an IP network, the server comprising:

means for establishing a telephone connection with said terminal;

first processing means for establishing a proxy entity corresponding to said terminal and for registering the proxy entity with a multimedia server via the IP network;

second processing means for exchanging multimedia call control messages between the multimedia server and the proxy entity, and for interpreting received call control messages to set up multimedia calls to the GSTN terminal.

13. A method of setting up a multimedia call to a user over an IP network in response to an incoming request to set up the call, the method comprising:

intercepting the request at a node coupled to the IP network;

suspending the connection set-up procedure;

alerting the user to the incoming request using a communication channel of a telephone network;

allowing the user to continue the set-up of the multimedia call by connecting a user communication terminal to the IP network; and

resuming the suspended connection set-up procedure and relaying the incoming request to the user communication terminal.

14. A method of setting up a multimedia call to a user over an IP network in response to an incoming request to set up the call, the method comprising:

intercepting the request at a node coupled to the IP network;

suspending the connection set-up procedure;

at said node, initiating a circuit-switched connection to a user communication terminal; and

following establishment of said circuit-switched connection, resuming the suspended connection set-up procedure and relaying the incoming request to the user communication terminal over said circuit-switched connection.