Client controlled dynamic call forwarding

• US 20080075261A1
• Filed: 08/31/2006
• Published: 03/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Raghav, Amritansh, Shtiegman, Eran, Ramanathan, Rajesh, Bobde, Nikhil
• Granted Patent: US 8,837,704 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/220.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/54 Arrangements for diverting calls for one subscriber to another predetermined subscriber based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; to voice mail H04M3/53308

Abstract

A client-side signaling mechanism that allows a client to control how a telephone call is handled on a call server. The client user can create call routing rules on the client device using a client control component that manages session protocol messages. Once created, the call routing rule(s) created on the client are transmitted to the call server where a call routing component of the call server processes the rule(s) for a call related to the client. When the server receives the rule(s) and determines that the rule(s) are related to an existing call (incoming or currently in-process), the server halts current normal server rules processing for that call and executes the client-created rule(s). In one example, SIP session messages are employed for client control of server-side call forwarding.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented system that facilitates phone call management, comprising:

a call routing component of a call server for routing a call of a client to a destination; and

a control component of the client for controlling the routing of the call at the server.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the control component of the client signals the call routing component of the server using one or more messages of a session protocol to control the routing of the call on the server.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the session protocol is session initiation protocol (SIP).

4. The system of claim 3, wherein a provisional response message of the SIP includes a call forwarding rule that is transmitted from the client to the server, which when executed by the server, routes the call.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein a redirection response message of the SIP includes a call forwarding rule that is transmitted from the client to the server, which when executed by the server, routes the call.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the control component facilitates routing of the call using at least one of 1xx and 3xx SIP responses.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the call routing component of the call server halts processing of a rule related to the call and processes a call routing rule received from the control component of the client.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the control component of the client exposes session protocol messages for user access, and the user creates a client-side script for transmission to and execution by the call routing component to route the call.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the control component facilitates controlling routing of the call at the server while concurrently processing signaling and messaging at the client.

10. A method of managing phone call routing, comprising:

receiving a phone call for processing;

signaling a call server from the client using a call forwarding rule created at the client; and

routing the call at the server based on the call forwarding rule.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising dynamically signaling the call server from the client to forward the call when the call is received at the call server.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

detecting a presence of other online clients; and

routing the call at the call server based on the call forwarding rule to connect the call to the other online clients.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising;

detecting a change in geographic location of the client to a new location; and

routing the call at the call server based on the call forwarding rule which facilitates routing the call to the new location of the client.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising executing a SIP message of the call forwarding rule to enable routing of the call at the call server.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

detecting a call from an account; and

routing the call at the call server based on the call forwarding rule which facilitates routing the call to a destination associated with the account.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising connecting multiple different call parties to the call based on the client-based call forwarding rule.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising dynamically terminating the call at another device based on the call forwarding rule while the client is currently processing another call.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

transmitting the call forwarding rule to the call server in response to receiving the phone call, which is a PSTN-based call; and

routing the PSTN-based call at the call server to a mobile phone based on the call forwarding rule.

19. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

creating a script at the client, which script includes one or more of SIP provisional response messages and SIP redirect response messages;

transmitting the script to the call server in response to receiving the phone call; and

processing the script to perform routing of the call at the server.

20. A call management system, comprising:

means for creating a call routing rule on a client;

means for receiving a call at one of a client and a SIP call server for processing;

means for transmitting the call routing rule to the call server from the client;

means for executing the call routing rule at the call server; and

means for routing the call at the server based on the call routing rule.