Method and apparatus for providing multiple simultaneous VOIP call sessions for a single directory number

• US 20060133345A1
• Filed: 12/16/2004
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Benco, David S., True, Sandra Lynn, Sheen, Baoling S., Voight, Kenneth J., Overend, Kevin J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,653,046 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2044 Group features, e.g. closed user group
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/46 Arrangements for calling a number of substations in a predetermined sequence until an answer is obtained
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/465 Arrangements for simultaneously calling a number of substations until an answer is obtained
• 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 7/0075 Details of addressing, directories or routing tables

Abstract

A system and method for providing a plurality of separate Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) call sessions for a single Directory Number (DN). The method includes associating a plurality of IP addresses with a single DN, communicating the association to a Switching Center responsible for routing calls between the DN and the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), determining that an existing VOIP call session associated with the DN is in progress, and creating another separate simultaneous VOIP call session for the DN. A communications system includes a switching center receiving an association between a plurality of IP addresses and a single DN for providing a plurality of separate simultaneous VOIP call sessions for the DN.

Claims

1. A method for providing a plurality of separate Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) call sessions for a single Directory Number (DN) comprising:

associating a plurality of IP addresses with a single DN, wherein each IP address corresponds to a different VOIP terminal;

receiving an incoming call from a calling party to the DN;

determining that an existing VOIP call session associated with the DN is in progress;

identifying another IP address associated with the DN not being used in an existing VOIP call session as an idle IP address;

routing the incoming call over an IP network between the calling party and a called party VOIP terminal having the idle IP address.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the identifying step includes identifying a plurality of IP addresses associated with the DN not being used in an existing VOIP call session as idle IP address, and the routing step includes routing the incoming call between the calling party and a plurality of called party VOIP terminals having the idle IP addresses.

3. The method defined in claim 1 wherein, the associating step comprises using a look up table.

4. The method defined in claim 3 wherein the lookup table is in a subscriber database.

5. The method defined in claim 3 wherein the identifying step further comprises using the lookup table in the subscriber database.

6. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising:

terminating the call session between the calling party and called party VOIP terminal;

identifying the IP address associated with the called party VOIP terminal of the terminated call session as an idle IP.

7. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising determining if the DN can be used for a plurality of separate simultaneous VOIP call sessions.

8. The method defined in claim 7 wherein the step of determining if the DN can be used for a plurality of separate simultaneous VOIP call sessions comprises determining if the DN owner has subscribed to a VOIP multi-call feature.

9. The method defined in claim 8 further comprising querying the subscriber database to determine if the DN owner has subscribed to the VOIP multi-call feature.

10. A method for providing a plurality of separate Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) call sessions for a single Directory Number (DN) comprising:

associating a plurality of IP addresses with a single DN wherein each IP address corresponds to a different VOIP terminal;

communicating the association to a Switching Center responsible for routing calls between the DN and the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN);

determining that an existing VOIP call session associated with the DN is in progress; and

creating another separate simultaneous VOIP call session for the DN.

11. The method defined in claim 10 wherein the creating step includes creating a VOIP call session between a calling party VOIP terminal associated with the DN and a called party.

12. The method defined in claim 10 wherein the associating step comprises using a look up table.

13. The method defined in claim 12 wherein the lookup table is in a subscriber database.

14. The method defined in claim 10 further comprising:

determining if the DN can be used for a plurality of separate simultaneous VOIP call sessions.

15. The method defined in claim 14 wherein the step of determining if the DN can be used for a plurality of separate VOIP call sessions comprises determining if the DN owner has subscribed to a VOIP multi-call feature.

16. The method defined in claim 15 further comprising querying the subscriber database to determine if the DN owner has subscribed to the VOIP multi-call feature.

17. A communications system for providing a plurality of separate Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) call sessions for a single Directory Number (DN) comprising:

a database having a plurality of IP addresses associated with a single DN, wherein each IP address corresponds to a different VOIP terminal; and

a Switching Center responsible for routing calls between the DN and the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) communicating with the database for establishing a plurality of separate simultaneous VOIP call sessions for the DN.