Setting up a Conference Call with a Hashed Address

• US 20070274283A1
• Filed: 05/09/2006
• Published: 11/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arlington Technologies, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Rose, Eileen, Baker, Albert
• Granted Patent: US 7,813,305 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/351
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/385 Uniform resource identifier for session initiation protocol [SIP URI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4038 with floor control

Abstract

A method and apparatus to arrange for and to set up a conference call are disclosed. The party who arranges for a conference call provides all of the details of the conference call to a conferencing server through an encoded public address. The arranging party'"'"'s telecommunications endpoint then transmits the encoded, initial public address to the server. The encoded public address is encoded with (i) the public address for each participant, which can be a group address or an individual address, and (ii) one or more commands that can be used to control the conference call, and is encoded in such a way so that it is still routable to the conferencing server. Because the encoded public address comprises all of the participants, either the conferencing server or an external proxy server can recursively retrieve all of the constituent public and contact addresses to set up the call.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a hashed initial address that is associated with a first telecommunications session;

resolving said hashed initial address into a second address and a third address; and

routing an invitation to a contact address to join said first telecommunications session, wherein said contact address is one of;

(i) said second address, and

(ii) an address that is resolved from said second address.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said second address is resolvable into a fourth address.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said second address is hashed.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein said second address is the public address of a first end user and said third address is the public address of a second end user.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said contact address identifies a telecommunications endpoint that operates in accordance with the Session Initiation Protocol.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said hashed initial address is also resolvable into at least one command.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said at least one command comprises conferencing in, to said first telecommunications session, a first end user before a second end user.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein said at least one command comprises billing for said first telecommunications session.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said hashed initial address is received at a conferencing server from a telecommunications endpoint, wherein said conferencing server and said telecommunications endpoint operate in accordance with the Session Initiation Protocol.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

when said second address is a public address, transmitting said second address to a proxy server that is physically distinct from said conferencing server, and

receiving said contact address from said proxy server;

wherein said proxy server operates in accordance with the Session Initiation Protocol.

11. A method comprising:

receiving a hashed initial address that is associated with a first telecommunications session;

resolving said hashed initial address into a second address, a third address, and at least one command that is applicable to said first telecommunications session; and

executing said at least one command.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said at least one command comprises routing an invitation to a contact address to join said first telecommunications session, wherein said contact address is one of:

(i) said second address, and

(ii) an address that is resolved from said second address.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said at least one command further comprises conferencing in, to said first telecommunications session, a first end user before a second end user.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein said at least one command comprises billing for said first telecommunications session.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein said second address is resolvable into a fourth address.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said second address is hashed.

17. A method comprising:

receiving an initial address that is directly resolvable into at least two public addresses;

resolving multiple addresses that belong to a first series of addresses, wherein each address in said first series, excepting the first address in said first series, is resolved from a preceding address in said first series, and wherein the first address in said first series is resolved from said initial address; and

when a contact address has been resolved from any address in said first series, adding a first telecommunications endpoint to a first telecommunications session, wherein said first telecommunications endpoint is identified by said contact address.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising resolving multiple addresses that belong to a second series of addresses, wherein each address in said second series, excepting the first address in said second series, is resolved from a preceding address in said second series, and wherein the first address in said second series is resolved from said initial address.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising adding, to said first telecommunications session, a second telecommunications endpoint that is identified by an address in said second series.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein at least one address in said first series is directly resolvable into at least two addresses.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein said at least two addresses are public addresses.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein said at least two addresses are for different end users.

23. The method of claim 20 wherein said at least two addresses are contact addresses of telecommunications endpoints that operate in accordance with the Session Initiation Protocol.

24. The method of claim 17 wherein said initial address is hashed.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein said initial address is also resolvable into at least one command.