IP-based interworking methods and apparatus for voice and data communications

• US 20090097421A1
• Filed: 12/21/2007
• Published: 04/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Zhu, Zhongwen
• Application Number:
  US11/963,116
• Publication Number:
  US 20090097421A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/261
• 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 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1045 Proxies, e.g. for session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1063 Application servers providing network services systems providing special services to telephonic subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15

Abstract

Method and apparatus for call interworking between user equipments (UEs) located in domain using different communication protocols. The methods and apparatus receive a call request for establishing a call between a first UE and a second UE, the call request including a list of addresses corresponding to the second UE. A list of list of addresses corresponding to the first UE is then retrieved and a forking operation is performed the received list of addresses corresponding to the second UE. Then a determination is made, based on a set of rules, on which address to be used from the list of addresses corresponding to the first UE and which address to be used from the list of addresses corresponding to the second UE for establishing the call between the first UE and the second UE.

Claims

1. A method for call interworking between a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE in an Internet Protocol (IP)-based network, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

receiving a call request for establishing a call between the first UE and the second UE, the call request including a list of addresses corresponding to the second UE;

retrieving a list of addresses corresponding to the first UE;

forking the received list of addresses corresponding to the second UE;

determining, based on a set of rules, which address to be used from the list of addresses corresponding to the first UE and which address to be used from the list of addresses corresponding to the second UE; and

establishing the call between the first UE and the second UE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining includes the steps of:

comparing the list of addresses corresponding to the first UE and the list of addresses corresponding to the second UE;

detecting that the first UE and the second UE are from a different domain;

determining that interworking is required for establishing the call between the first UE and the second UE;

subscribing on behalf of the first UE to a user account in the domain of the second UE; and

establishing the call between the first UE and the second UE through the proxy of the domain of the second UE.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of comparing includes the steps of:

detecting that the first UE and the second UE are from a same domain; and

setting up the call between the first UE and the second UE through a common domain gateway of the same domain.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the common domain gateway is an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) gateway.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of rules includes at least one of the following:

Quality of Service (QoS) and costs level.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving a call request includes a step of the initiating a call from the first UE using a contact name of the second UE.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of retrieving includes a step of inquiring a user database for the list of addresses of the first UE.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the domain of the second UE can be any of the following:

a Voice over IP (VoIP) domain, an Instant messaging domain and a packet data communication domain.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the set of rules includes at least one of the following:

Quality of Service (QoS) and costs level.

9. A method for conference call interworking between a first user equipment (UE) and a group of UEs having a plurality of second UEs, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

receiving a conference call request for establishing a call between the first UE and each one of the plurality of second UEs, the call request including a group identifier for identifying the group of UEs;

setting up a conference call session;

retrieving a list of addresses corresponding to the first UE;

querying a database for expanding the group identifier into a list for each one of the plurality of second UEs;

forking the received list of addresses corresponding to each the second UE;

determining, based on a set of rules, which address to be used from the list of addresses corresponding to the first UE and which address to be used from the list of addresses corresponding to the second UE; and

establishing the call between the first UE and each second UE.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises a step of updating the conference call session with the status of the second UE.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of determining includes the steps of:

comparing the list of addresses corresponding to the first UE and the list of addresses corresponding to the second UE;

detecting that the first UE and the second UE are from a different domain;

determining that interworking is required for establishing the call between the first UE and the second UE;

subscribing on behalf of the first UE to a user account in the domain of each second UE; and

establishing the call between the first UE and each second UE through the proxy of the domain of the second UE.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of comparing includes the steps of:

detecting for each one of the group of second UEs and the first UE that each one of the group of second UEs and the first UE are from a same domain; and

setting up the call between the first UE and the each one of the group second UEs through a common domain gateway of the same domain.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the common domain gateway is an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) gateway.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of retrieving includes a step of inquiring a user database for the list of addresses of the first UE.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the domain of the second UE can be any of the following:

Voice over IP (VoIP) domain, an Instant messaging domain and a packet data communication domain.

17. An application server (AS) for establishing a call between a first UE and a second UE, the AS comprising:

an application part for receiving a call request for establishing a call between the first UE and the second UE, the call request including a list of addresses corresponding to the second UE and retrieving a list of addresses corresponding to the first UE and forking the received list of addresses corresponding to the second UE; and

wherein the application part interacts with a business logic for forking the received list of addresses corresponding to the second UE and determining, based on a set of rules stored in the application part, which address to be used from the list of addresses corresponding to the first UE and which address to be used from the list of addresses corresponding to the second UE for establishing the call.

18. The AS of claim 17, wherein the application part further compares the list of addresses corresponding to the first UE and the list of addresses corresponding to the second UE, detects that the first UE and the second UE are from a different domain;

and determines that interworking is required for establishing the call between the first UE and the second UE through an appropriate domain gateway of the second UE.

19. The AS of claim 17, wherein the set of rules includes at least one of the following:

Quality of Service (QoS) and costs level.

20. The AS of claim 17, wherein the application part inquires a user database for the list of addresses of the first UE.

21. The AS of claim 17, wherein the AS is an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) gateway.

22. An application server (AS) for establishing a conference call between a first UE and a group of UEs having a plurality of second UEs, the AS comprising:

an application part for receiving a conference call request for establishing a call between the first UE and each one of the plurality of second UEs, the call request including a list of addresses corresponding to the second UE, a group identifier for identifying the group of UEs, setting up a conference call session, retrieving a list of addresses corresponding to the first UE;

querying a database for expanding the group identifier into a list for each one of the plurality of second UEs; and

wherein the application part interacts with a business logic for forking the received list corresponding to each one of the plurality of second UEs and determining, based on a set of rules stored in the application part, which address to be used from the list of addresses corresponding to the first UE and which address to be used from the list of addresses corresponding to each of the second UE for establishing the call.

23. The AS of claim 22, wherein the AS updates the conference call session with the status of the second UE when establishing a call between the first UE and each one of the plurality of second UEs.

24. The AS of claim 22, wherein the application part further compares the list of addresses corresponding to the first UE and the list of addresses corresponding to each second UE, detects that the first UE and each second UE are from a different domain;

and determines that interworking is required for establishing the call between the first UE and each second UE through an appropriate domain gateway.

25. The AS of claim 22, wherein the set of rules includes at least one of the following:

Quality of Service (QoS) and costs level.

26. The AS of claim 22, wherein the application part inquires a user database for the list of addresses of the first UE.

27. The AS of claim 22, wherein the AS is an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) gateway.

29. The IWF gateway of claim 27, wherein the service client applications are operable in the domain of the at least one second UE.

28. An Interworking Function (IWF) gateway for call interworking between a domain of a first UE and at least one second UE, the IWF gateway comprising:

service client applications for subscribing on behalf of the first UE to a user account in the domain of the at least one second UE; and

wherein the IWF gateway establishes the call between the first UE and at least one second UE through the proxy of the domain of the at least one second UE.

30. The IWF gateway of claim 28, wherein the IWF gateway is collocated with an Application Server (AS) for establishing a call between the first UE and the at least one second UE.