Enhanced alerting system

• US 20060251232A1
• Filed: 05/06/2005
• Published: 11/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cingular Wireless II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tam, Richard, Lai, Danh, Stafford, Matthew, Wuthnow, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 8,139,739 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/201.10
• 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 1/578 associated with a synthesized vocal announcement
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• 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

An enhanced alerting system delivers caller identification information to a user of a mobile communications device with the called device announcing in an audio format the name associated with a calling device. The enhanced alerting system may be implemented by an Internet Protocol (IP) based system, e.g., IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). In at least one embodiment of the invention, an application server streams the announcement to the called communications device. In at least one embodiment of the invention, the service is network controlled. In at least one embodiment of the invention, the service is user equipment controlled. In at least one embodiment of the invention, a calling communications device streams the announcement to the called communications device in a request for a call session with the called communications device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

establishing, in response to a request from a first communications device to participate in a first call session between the first communications device and a second communications device, a second call session between an application server and the second communications device;

sending to the second communications device, during the second call session, an announcement associated with the first communications device.

2. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein the announcement associated with the first communications device comprises a name associated with the first communications device in an audio format.

3. The method, as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

releasing the second call session in response to a request to release the second call session from the second communications device; and

receiving, subsequent to releasing the second call session, a response from the second communications device corresponding to the request to participate in the first call session.

4. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein a portion of the signaling flow for the second call session is controlled by one of the first and second communications devices.

5. The method, as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

requesting the second call session by the second communications device.

6. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein a portion of the signaling flow is controlled by a network element comprising at least one application server, the network coupling the first and second communications device.

7. The method, as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

requesting the second call session by the application server.

8. The method, as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

establishing the first call session subsequent to releasing the second call session.

9. The method, as recited in claim 8, wherein establishing the first call session comprises establishing a duplex communication path between the first communication device and the second communication device prior to voice or data communication from the second communication device to the first communication device.

10. The method, as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

billing the first call session in response to the establishment of the first call session.

11. The method, as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

associating the name in the audio format with the first communications device.

12. The method, as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

querying a database external to the application server for the name associated with the first communications device.

13. The method, as recited in claim 2, wherein the name in the audio format comprises a prerecorded spoken rendition.

14. The method, as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

validating an enhanced alerting preference for the second communications device with a service profile associated with the second communications device.

15. The method, as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

converting the name from text to the audio format.

16. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein the announcement associated with the first communications device comprises information associated with the first communications device in at least one of an image format and a video format.

17. A method comprising:

sending from a first communications device to a second communications device an announcement associated with the first communications device, the announcement being sent in a request from the first communications device to participate in a call session between the first communications device and the second communications device; and

wherein the announcement is in at least one of an audio format and an image format.

18. The method, as recited in claim 17, further comprising:

presenting the announcement by the second communications device after receiving the request.

19. The method, as recited in claim 18, further comprising:

establishing a call session according to a response from the second communications device after presenting at least a portion of the announcement.

20. A communications system comprising:

an alerting facility operable to establish, in response to a request from a first communications device to participate in a first call session between the first communications device and a second communications device, a second call session between an application server and the second communications device and operable to send to the second communications device, during the second call session, an announcement associated with the first communications device.

21. The communications system, as recited in claim 20, wherein the announcement associated with the first communications device comprises a name associated with the first communications device in an audio format.

22. The communications system, as recited in claim 20, further comprising:

a provider-independent and standardized server coupled to the alerting facility.

23. The communications system, as recited in claim 20, wherein the second call session is established and released prior to a response from the second communications device corresponding to the request.

24. The communications system, as recited in claim 20, further comprising:

a database comprising prerecorded names in the audio format, at least one of the names corresponding to the first communications device.

25. The communications system, as recited in claim 20, wherein the name is provided to the alerting facility in a text format and the name is converted into an audio format.

26. The communications system, as recited in claim 20, wherein the alerting facility retrieves the name from a database external to the network.

27. The communications system, as recited in claim 20, wherein the alerting facility comprises a computer program product executable encoded in one or more computer readable media selected from the set of disk, tape, or other magnetic, optical, or electronic storage medium.

28. A communications system comprising:

a first alerting facility operable to send from a first communications device to a second communications device an announcement associated with the first communications device, the announcement being sent in a request to participate in a call session between the first communications device and the second communications device; and

wherein the announcement is in at least one of an audio format and an image format.

29. The communications system, as recited in claim 28 further comprising:

a second alerting facility operable to present the announcement on the second communications device after receiving the request.

30. The communications system, as recited in claim 29, wherein at least one of the first and the second alerting facilities comprises a computer program product executable encoded in one or more computer readable media selected from the set of disk, tape, or other magnetic, optical, or electronic storage medium.

31. An apparatus comprising:

means for establishing, in response to a request from a first communications device to participate in a first call session between the first communications device and a second communications device, a second call session between an application server and the second communications device; and

means for sending to a second communications device, during the second call session, an announcement associated with a first communications device.

32. The apparatus, as recited in claim 31, further comprising:

means for associating the first communications device with an announcement comprising name in an audio format.

33. The apparatus, as recited in claim 31, further comprising:

means for responding to the request subsequent to releasing the second call session.

34. The apparatus, as recited in claim 31, further comprising:

means for establishing the first call session subsequent to releasing the second call session.