Voice mail system, method and network devices

• US 20050238148A1
• Filed: 06/21/2005
• Published: 10/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arlington Technologies, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Avaya Canada Corp. (Avaya Incorporated)
• Inventors: Poustchi, Behrouz, De Witte, Jeroen
• Granted Patent: US 7,580,510 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/88.170
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/006 Call diverting means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2535 adapted for voice communication over an Internet Protocol [IP] network Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network equipment and services H04M7/006; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6505 storing speech in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4527 Voicemail attached to other kind of message
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/203 composed of PSTN and data network, e.g. the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/12 Marking faulty circuits "busy"; Enabling equipment to disengage itself from faulty circuits ; Using redundant circuits; Response of a circuit, apparatus or system to an error
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53325 Interconnection arrangements between voice mail systems
• 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

Abstract

A network device has a voice mail module adapted to provide voice mail functionality for calls of a first type directed to the network device. The calls of the first type are originally intended for the network device. The voice mail module also provides voice mail functionality for calls of a second type directed to the network device. The calls of the second type are originally intended for one or more other network devices in respect of which the network device has been designated as a backup. In a system having such network devices, voice mail functionality may be provided locally at the network devices. The network devices may be implemented as telephones. In the event that a network device is no longer available on the network, another network device designated as a backup network device takes voice mail messages for the network device that is unavailable. This significantly improves overall system reliability and availability.

Claims

1. A network comprising:

a plurality of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephone terminal sets;

wherein the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets are adapted to collectively implement call processing functionalities for the VoIP telephone terminal sets.

2. A network according to claim 1 wherein no centralized processing is performed in the delivery of the call processing functionalities for all calls internal to the network.

3. A network according to claim 1, wherein each VoIP telephone terminal set of the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets is adapted to maintain information on other VoIP telephone terminal sets of the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets, the information being adapted for use by the VoIP telephone terminal set in providing the call processing functionalities.

4. A network according to claim 3, wherein the information comprises at least one of status identifiers of the other VoIP telephone terminal sets, addresses of the other VoIP telephone terminal sets, device type identifiers, timestamps, network class identifiers, and activity indicators.

5. A network according to claim 3, wherein each VoIP telephone terminal set of the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets is adapted to participate in distributing the information among the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets.

6. A network according to claim 1, wherein each VoIP telephone terminal set is adapted to maintain information designating at least one other VoIP telephone terminal set of the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets as a backup for each VoIP telephone terminal set.

7. A network according to claim 6, wherein each VoIP telephone terminal set is adapted to maintain the information by obtaining some of the information from other VoIP telephone terminal sets of the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets and designating at least one other VoIP telephone terminal set of the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets as a backup for the VoIP telephone terminal set.

8. A network according to claim 2, wherein each VoIP telephone terminal set of the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets comprises a call processing module, the call processing modules of the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets being adapted to collectively deliver the call processing functionalities in a distributed fashion.

9. A network according to claim 8, wherein for each VoIP telephone terminal set of the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets, the call processing module is adapted to handle calls originally intended for the VoIP telephone terminal set and to handle other calls originally intended for other VoIP telephone terminal sets of the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets for which the VoIP telephone terminal set has been designated as backup.

10. A network according to claim 2, wherein the call processing functionalities comprise call setup and tear-down, and at least one of voice mail, call transfer, call forwarding, peer backup, time synchronization, and call park and call park pickup.

11. A network according to claim 1, wherein each VoIP telephone terminal set of the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets is one of a packet based telephone, a video phone, and a wireless telephone.

12. An article of manufacture comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for execution on a VoIP telephone terminal set, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising;

computer readable code means for execution in conjunction with similar computer readable code means implemented on a plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets and for instructing the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets to collectively implement together with the VoIP telephone terminal set call processing functionalities for the VoIP telephone terminal set and the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets.

13. An article of manufacture according to claim 12, wherein the computer readable code means for execution on the VoIP telephone terminal set is adapted to collectively implement together with the similar computer readable code means implemented on the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets the call processing functionalities without any centralized processing being performed in the delivery of the call processing functionalities for all calls internal to the network.

14. An article of manufacture according to claim 12, wherein said computer readable code means for execution in conjunction with similar computer readable code means implemented on the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets comprises computer readable code means for maintaining in a table information on the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets, the information being adapted for use by the VoIP telephone terminal set in providing the call processing functionalities.

15. An article of manufacture according to claim 14, wherein the information comprises at least one of status identifiers of the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets, addresses of the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets, device type identifiers, timestamps, network class identifiers, and activity indicators.

16. An article of manufacture according to claim 14, wherein said computer readable code means for execution in conjunction with similar computer readable code means implemented on the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets comprises computer readable code means for collectively distributing together with the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets the information among the VoIP telephone terminal set and the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets.

17. An article of manufacture according to claim 16, wherein said computer readable code means for collectively distributing the information among the VoIP telephone terminal set and the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets comprises computer readable code means for obtaining the information from the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets.

18. An article of manufacture according to claim 12, wherein said computer readable code means for execution in conjunction with similar computer readable code means implemented on the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets comprises computer readable code means for maintaining information designating at least one other VoIP telephone terminal set of the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets as a backup for each one of the VoIP telephone terminal set and the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets.

19. An article of manufacture according to claim 18, wherein the computer readable code means for maintaining information comprises:

computer readable code means for obtaining some of the information from the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets; and

computer readable code means for designating at least one other VoIP telephone terminal set of the plurality of VoIP telephone terminal sets as a backup for the VoIP telephone terminal set.

20. An article of manufacture according to claim 12, wherein said computer readable code means for execution in conjunction with similar computer readable code means implemented on the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets comprises computer readable code means for collectively delivering the call processing functionalities in a distributed fashion.

21. An article of manufacture according to claim 20, wherein the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprises computer readable code means for handling calls originally intended for the VoIP telephone terminal set and for handling other calls originally intended for other VoIP telephone terminal sets of the plurality of other VoIP telephone terminal sets for which the VoIP telephone terminal set is designated as backup.

22. An article of manufacture according to claim 13, wherein the call processing functionalities comprise call setup and tear-down, and at least one of voice mail, call transfer, call forwarding, peer backup, time synchronization, and call park and call park pickup.

23. An article of manufacture according to claim 12, wherein each one of the VoIP telephone terminal set and the plurality of other telephone terminal sets is one of a packet based telephone, a video phone, and a wireless telephone.

24. A VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephone terminal set adapted to collectively implement together with other VoIP telephone terminal sets call processing functionalities for the VoIP terminal set and the other VoIP terminal sets.

25. A VoIP telephone terminal set according to claim 24, wherein the VoIP telephone terminal set is adapted to collectively implement the call processing functionalities together with the other VoIP telephone terminal sets without any centralized processing being performed in the delivery of the call processing functionalities for all calls internal to the network.