Generation of availability indicators from call control policies for presence enabled telephony system

• US 20040037396A1
• Filed: 08/01/2003
• Published: 02/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitel Networks Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitel Networks Corporation
• Inventors: Gray, Thomas A., Liscano, Ramiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,536,001 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/67.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0033 Notification or handling of incoming calls by a computer
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1255 where the switching fabric and the switching logic are decomposed such as in Media Gateway Control
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/126 Interworking of session control protocols

Abstract

A system for generating user availability information to a subscriber from availability rules set by the user, comprising a shared database (e.g. tuple space), a user interface for setting availability rules with fuzzy indicators of degrees of user availability, and an application level for receiving and posting a request from the subscriber for user availability information to the shared database such that predetermined ones of the availability rules post responses to the shared database, computing from these responses a crisp indication of user availability information, and transmitting the crisp indication of user availability to the subscriber.

Claims

1. A system for generating user availability information to a subscriber from availability rules set by said user, comprising:

a shared database;

a user interface for setting said availability rules with fuzzy indicators of degrees of user availability; and

an application level for receiving and posting a request from said subscriber for said user availability information to said shared database such that predetermined ones of said availability rules post responses to said shared database, computing from said responses a crisp indication of said user availability information, and transmitting said crisp indication of user availability to said subscriber.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said request is in the form of a SIP INVITE message having an additional header to identify the message as a request for availability, and said user availability information is in the form of a SIP NOTIFY message containing a payload with said crisp indication of user availability information.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said application level further includes a call delivery (CD) agent for receiving said request, extracting information relating to identity of said subscriber, call parameters, and previously determined availability of the user, and in response posting said information to said shared database.

4. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said shared database is a tuple space.

5. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said fuzzy indicators range from not available to very available.

6. A system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said fuzzy indicators are not available, not very available, somewhat available, available, and very available.

7. A system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said fuzzy indicators are ascribed values ranging from not available=0 to very available=4.

8. A system as claimed in claim 3 or any one of claims 5 to 7 when appended to claim 3, wherein said application level further includes a user rule assigning (UR) agent for posting the responses from said predetermined ones of said availability rules to said shared database.

9. A system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said responses are of the form:

unique identifier for rule, fuzzy value of availability, list of factors considered by rule, wherein the number of factors indicates specificity of said rule.

10. A system as claimed in claim 9, wherein said factors include:

time, location and relationship between said subscriber and said user.

11. A system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said application level further includes a conflict resolving (CR) agent for subscribing to said responses on said shared database and in response computing said crisp indication of said user availability information.

12. A system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said conflict resolving agent (i) creates a factor table for each of said responses including a specificity value for each of the factors considered by said rules and the fuzzy value of availability for each rule, (ii) calculates a composite fuzzy value of user availability from said values in said factor table, and (iii) computes said crisp indication of user availability by comparing said composite fuzzy value of user availability to a threshold availability value and generating one of either a crisp indicator of availability in the event that said composite fuzzy value of user availability exceeds said threshold availability value, or a crisp indicator of unavailability in the event that said composite fuzzy value of user availability is less than said threshold availability value.

20. A system as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as illustrated in the accompanying FIGS. 1 to 6 inclusive.

13. A method of generating user availability information to a subscriber from availability rules with fuzzy indicators of degrees of user availability set by said user, comprising:

receiving a request from said subscriber for said user availability information resulting in predetermined ones of said availability rules firing responses;

computing from said responses a crisp indication of said user availability information; and

transmitting said crisp indication of user availability to said subscriber.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said responses are of the form:

unique identifier for rule, fuzzy value of availability, list of factors considered by rule.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said factors include:

time, location and relationship between said subscriber and said user.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein said step of computing further includes (i) creating a factor table for each of said responses including a specificity value for each of the factors considered by said rules and the fuzzy value of availability for each rule, (ii) calculating a composite fuzzy value of user availability from said values in said factor table, and (iii) computing said crisp indication of user availability by comparing said composite fuzzy value of user availability to a threshold availability value and generating one of either a crisp indicator of availability in the event that said composite fuzzy value of user availability exceeds said threshold availability value, or a crisp indicator of unavailability in the event that said composite fuzzy value of user availability is less than said threshold availability value.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16, wherein said step of creating said factor table further includes:

(a) for each one of the factors considered by an associated rule searching said factor table for an entry for said one of said factors;

(b) in the event said factor table does not contain said entry then creating a new entry in the factor table for said one of said factors having a specificity of zero;

(c) in the event the factor table contains said entry then comparing the specificity of said one of said factors, and

(i) if the specificity of said entry is less than the specificity of said one of said factors then replacing the value of availability in the entry with the value of availability of said one of said factors and replacing the value of specificity in the entry with the specificity of said one of said factors;

(ii) if the specificity of said entry is equal to the specificity of said one of said factors then replacing the value of availability in the entry with the average of the values of availability in the entry and said one of said factors;

(d) repeat steps (a) to (c) for all of said factors; and

(e) repeat steps (a) to (d) for all of said responses.

18. A method as claimed in claim 16 or claim 17, wherein said step of calculating said composite fuzzy value of availability further includes one of either:

selecting a maximum one of said values of availability in said factor table;

selecting a minimum one of said values of availability in said factor table;

performing an arithmetic average of said values of availability in said factor table;

performing a geometric average of said values of availability in said factor table; and

performing specificity weighted average of said values of availability in said factor table.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18, wherein said specificity weighted average is given by (sum for all factors (specificity*availability))/(sum for all factors (specificity)).

21. A method as claimed in claim 13 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as illustrated in the accompanying FIGS. 1 to 6 inclusive.