SYSTEM FOR MANAGING VIDEO VOICEMAIL

• US 20090066781A1
• Filed: 09/07/2007
• Published: 03/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: SHAH, JYOTINDRA, KARNALKAR, ANUP, JACKSON, JAMES
• Granted Patent: US 8,203,589 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/14.60
• 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: H04M 3/5315 where the non-audio components are still images or video still image mailbox systems H04N1/324, intermediate storage of video signals for videophones H04N7/147
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0057 Services where the data services network provides a telephone service in addition or as an alternative, e.g. for backup purposes, to the telephone service provided by the telephone services network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/14 Systems for two-way working H04N7/12, H04N7/173 take precedence

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a communication device having a controller adapted to establish communications with a voicemail system over a Public Switched Telephone Network port of the communication device, receive from the voicemail system by way of a broadband port of the communication device an invitation to switch to a video call over the broadband port, transmit a Session Initiation Protocol message to establish video communications with the voicemail system, and transmit to the voicemail system a video message to be recorded by the voicemail system as a video voicemail message. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A communication device, comprising a controller adapted to:

establish communications with a voicemail system over a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) port of the communication device;

receive from the voicemail system by way of a broadband port of the communication device an invitation to switch to a video call over the broadband port;

transmit a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message to establish video communications with the voicemail system; and

transmit to the voicemail system a video message to be recorded by the voicemail system as a video voicemail message.

2. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the controller is adapted to establish communications with the voicemail system responsive to a redirection of a PSTN call initiated by the communication device being redirected to the voicemail system.

3. The communication device of claim 2, wherein the voicemail system transmits the invitation responsive to the voicemail system determining that the communication device is video capable according to a calling party number retrieved from the PSTN call.

4. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the controller is adapted to:

receive a SIP OPTIONS message from the voicemail system to determine whether the communication device is video capable; and

transmit to the voicemail system a SIP OK message indicating it is video capable.

5. The communication device of claim 4, wherein the controller is adapted to:

receive from the voicemail system a SIP INVITE message to switch to video communications over the broadband port of the communication device; and

terminate communications with the voicemail system over the PSTN port responsive to establishing video communications with the voicemail system over the broadband port.

6. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the controller is adapted to present the invitation by way of a User Interface (UI) of the communication device.

7. The communication device of claim 6, wherein the UI comprises at least one among a display, an illuminable tactile or touch-sensitive button, and an illuminable softkey button presented at the display.

8. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the communication device and the voicemail system operate in an IP Multimedia Subsystem communication system.

9. A computer-readable storage medium operating in a communication device, comprising computer instructions for:

establishing a circuit-switched communication session with a voicemail system; and

initiating a transition to a video Internet Protocol (IP) communication session with the voicemail system while the circuit-switched communication session is active between the communication device and the voicemail system.

10. The storage medium of claim 9, wherein the circuit-switched communication session comprises a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) communication session, and wherein the communication device and the voicemail system operate in an IP Multimedia Subsystem communication system.

11. The storage medium of claim 9, comprising computer instructions for terminating the circuit-switched communication session responsive to switching to the video IP communication session.

12. The storage medium of claim 9, comprising computer instructions for establishing communications with the voicemail system responsive to the circuit-switched communication session initiated by the communication device being redirected to the voicemail system.

13. The storage medium of claim 9, comprising computer instructions for receiving from the voicemail system an invitation to transition to the video IP communication session responsive to the voicemail system determining that the communication device is video capable according to a calling party number retrieved from the circuit-switched communication session.

14. The storage medium of claim 9, comprising computer instructions for:

receiving a SIP OPTIONS message from the voicemail system to determine whether the communication device is video capable; and

transmitting to the voicemail system a SIP OK message indicating it is video capable.

15. The storage medium of claim 14, wherein the controller is adapted to

receive from the voicemail system a SIP INVITE message to switch to video communications over the broadband port of the communication device;

and

terminate communications with the voicemail system over the PSTN port responsive to establishing video communications with the voicemail system over the broadband port.

16. The storage medium of claim 9, comprising computer instructions for presenting the invitation by way of a User Interface (UI) of the communication device.

17. The storage medium of claim 9, wherein communication device comprises a circuit-switch communication port, and a packet-switched communication port, and wherein the circuit-switched communication session takes place by way of the circuit-switch communication port, and the video IP communication session takes place by way of the packet-switched communication port.

18. A voicemail system, comprising a controller adapted to transmit to a communication device an invitation to switch from an active circuit-switched communication session to a video Internet Protocol (IP) communication session.

19. The voicemail system of claim 18, wherein the controller is adapted to determine whether the communication device is video capable from a calling party number retrieved during the circuit-switched communication session.

20. The voicemail system of claim 18, wherein the controller is adapted to:

transmit a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) OPTIONS message to the communication device to determine whether the communication device is video capable; and

receive from the communication device a SIP OK message that indicates it is video capable.

21. The voicemail system of claim 20, wherein the controller is adapted to:

transmit to the communication device the invitation as a SIP INVITE message to switch to video communications over a broadband port of the communication device; and

terminate communications the circuit-switched communication session responsive to establishing video communications with the communication device over the broadband port.

22. The voicemail system of claim 18, wherein the controller is adapted to:

receive a video message from the communication device over the video IP communication session; and

record said video message.

23. The voicemail system of claim 22, wherein the controller is adapted to:

establish communications with a second communication device over a second circuit-switched communication session; and

transmit a second invitation to the second communication device to switch from the second circuit-switched communication session to a second video IP communication session.

24. The voicemail system of claim 23, wherein the controller is adapted to determine that the second communication device is video capable from a calling party number retrieved from the second circuit-switched communication session.

25. The voicemail system of claim 23, wherein the second communication device switches to the second video IP communication session responsive to the second invitation, and wherein the controller is adapted to present the recorded video message to the second communication device.