ABSTRACT APPLICATION DISPATCHER

• US 20080232567A1
• Filed: 01/04/2008
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Maes, Stephane H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,744,055 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/201.12
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1046 Call controllers; Call servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1066 Session management
• 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

Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for providing one or more services in a communication session such as a call or other media exchange independent of supporting network technologies. According to one embodiment, a system for providing one or more services in a communication session can comprise a communication network and an application dispatcher communicatively coupled with the communication network. The application dispatcher can be adapted to determine one or more components for providing at least one service in the communication session and direct the communication session to the one or more components. According to one embodiment, determining the one or more components and directing the communication session to the one or more components can be performed independent of supporting network technologies.

Claims

1. A system for providing one or more services in a communication session, the system comprising:

a communication network; and

an application dispatcher communicatively coupled with the communication network and adapted to dispatch the communication session to one or more components of the communication network for processing of the communication session, the one or more components for providing at least one service in the communication session.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the application dispatcher is adapted to direct the communication session to the one or more components of the communication network independent of supporting network technologies.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a call control enabler communicatively coupled with the communications network and the application dispatcher, the call control enabler adapted to provide a notification of a communication event on the communication network and to request one or more call control functions of one or more components of the communication network.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the application dispatcher is adapted to receive the notification of the communication event from the call control enabler, determine one or more components for providing at least one service in the communication session, and direct the communication session to the determined one or more components in response to the notification.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the application dispatcher determines one or more components for providing at least one service in the communication session by applying one or more policies.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the application dispatcher is adapted to direct the communication session to one or more of the components of the communication network via the call control enabler based on one or more policies.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more components comprise at least one application.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the application dispatcher is implemented on the protocol of the communication network.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the application dispatcher is implemented by an application server.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more components comprise at least on endpoint.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication event comprises a request from an application.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication event comprises a network event from an endpoint.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one service comprises a plurality of services.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein directing the communication session to one or more components comprises directing the communication session to the one or more components in sequence.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein directing the communication session to one or more components comprises directing the communication session to the one or more components in parallel.

16. The system of claim 3, wherein the call control enabler is adapted to provide an interface for requesting one or more call control functions of the one or more components and the interface is abstracted from a protocol of the communication network and the one or more components.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein directing the communication session to the one or more components comprises invoking one or more call control functions via the interface of the call control enabler.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one service comprises a call blocking service.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one service comprises a call forwarding service.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one service comprises a caller ID service.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one service comprises a voice mail service.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one service comprises a call routing service.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one service comprises Service Capability Interaction Manager (SCIM) services.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein the communications network comprises a Public Switched Telephone Network.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein the network comprises a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) network.

26. The system of claim 1, wherein the network comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

27. The system of claim 1, wherein the application dispatcher comprises a northbound interface adapted to provide an abstract interface to functions provided by the application dispatcher.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the application dispatcher is adapted to provide notification of network events to one or more registered applications via the northbound interface.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein the application dispatcher is adapted to receive instructions for handling communications sessions via the northbound interface.

30. A method for providing one or more services in a communication session, the method comprising:

identifying with an application dispatcher one or more components for providing at least one service in the communication session; and

dispatching the communication session to the one or more components from the application dispatcher.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein directing the communication session to the one or more components from the application dispatcher is performed independent of supporting network technologies.

32. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

detecting a communication event with a call control enabler;

providing an abstract representation of the communication event to the application dispatcher from the call control enabler in response to the communication event.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein identifying with the application dispatcher one or more components for providing at least one service in the communication session is based on applying one or more policies to the abstract representation of the communication event.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein identifying the one or more components and directing the communication session to the one or more components are performed in response to a request from an application.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein dispatching the communication session to the one or more components is performed via a communication protocol supporting the communication session.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein the communication event comprises a network event from an endpoint.

37. The method of claim 32, wherein identifying one or more components for providing at least one service is based on the communication event.

38. The method of claim 32, wherein identifying one or more components for providing at least one service is based on a party to the communication event.

39. The method of claim 34, wherein identifying one or more components for providing at least one service is further based on services to which the party to the communication event is a subscriber.

40. The method of claim 30, wherein the at least one service comprises a plurality of services.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein directing the communication session to one or more components comprises directing the communication session to the one or more components in sequence.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein directing the communication session to one or more components comprises directing the communication session to the one or more components in parallel.

43. The method of claim 32, wherein directing the communication session to the one or more components comprises invoking one or more call control functions via an interface of the call control enabler, wherein the interface is abstracted from a protocol of the communication network and the one or more components.

44. The method of claim 30, wherein the at least one service comprises a call blocking service.

45. The method of claim 30, wherein the at least one service comprises a call forwarding service.

46. The method of claim 30, wherein the at least one service comprises a caller ID service.

47. The method of claim 30, wherein the at least one service comprises a voice mail service.

48. The method of claim 30, wherein the at least one service comprises a call routing service.

49. The method of claim 30, wherein the at least one service comprises Service Capability Interaction Manager (SCIM) services.

50. The method of claim 30, further comprising providing notification of a network event to one or more registered applications via a northbound interface of the application dispatcher.

51. The method of claim 30, further comprising receiving instructions for handling communications sessions via a northbound interface of the application dispatcher.

52. An application dispatcher comprising:

an interface; and

application logic adapted to receive a communication via the interface, determine how to handle the communication, and direct the communication to a network resource for handling of the communication.

53. The application dispatcher of claim 52, wherein the application dispatcher is further adapted to determine a context of handling of the communication, determine how to further handle the communication based on the context, and redirect the communication based on the context.

54. The application dispatcher of claim 52, wherein the application dispatcher is pre-programmed with the application logic.

55. The application dispatcher of claim 52, wherein the interface comprises a northbound interface and the application dispatcher is adapted to receive the application logic via the northbound interface.