Arrangement for extending call-coverage across a network of nodes
First Claim
1. A remote call-coverage method comprising the steps of:
- in response to invocation of call coverage for a call that is connected to a first switch, connecting the call from the first switch to a second switch that serves a call-covering endpoint of the call, and signaling from the first switch to the second switch that the call is a coverage call;
in response to the second switch receiving the signaling, the second switch determining availability of the call-covering endpoint to receive the call;
in response to the second switch determining that the call-covering endpoint is available, alerting the call-covering endpoint of the call and signaling from the second switch to the first switch that the call-covering endpoint is available;
in response to the second switch determining that the call-covering endpoint is not available, signaling from the second switch to the first switch that the call-covering endpoint is not available; and
in response to the first switch receiving the signaling that the call-covering endpoint is not available, disconnecting the call from the second switch.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a network of telecommunication switches, a first switch redirects a to-be-covered call to a remote call-covering endpoint served by a second switch, without losing control over the call. The first switch accompanies connection of the call to the second switch with signaling that identifies the call as a coverage call. The second switch responds to the signaling by determining the available status of the remote covering endpoint and signaling the status back to the first switch. If the remote covering endpoint is available, the second switch takes steps to connect the call to the endpoint. If the remote covering endpoint is not available, the first switch disconnects the call from the second switch and proceeds to cover the call to an alternative covering endpoint. The net effect is that call coverage works--from a user viewpoint--identically across a network of switches as it does on a single switch.
38 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A remote call-coverage method comprising the steps of:
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in response to invocation of call coverage for a call that is connected to a first switch, connecting the call from the first switch to a second switch that serves a call-covering endpoint of the call, and signaling from the first switch to the second switch that the call is a coverage call; in response to the second switch receiving the signaling, the second switch determining availability of the call-covering endpoint to receive the call; in response to the second switch determining that the call-covering endpoint is available, alerting the call-covering endpoint of the call and signaling from the second switch to the first switch that the call-covering endpoint is available; in response to the second switch determining that the call-covering endpoint is not available, signaling from the second switch to the first switch that the call-covering endpoint is not available; and in response to the first switch receiving the signaling that the call-covering endpoint is not available, disconnecting the call from the second switch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of remotely covering a call in a telecommunications network comprising at least two interconnected switches each serving different endpoints, comprising the steps of:
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in response to a first switch invoking call coverage for a call connected to the first switch and destined for a destination endpoint served by the first switch, the first switch identifying a call-covering endpoint for the call from a coverage path of the destination endpoint; in response to the first switch identifying a remote call-covering endpoint for the call from the coverage path, the first switch connecting the call to a second switch that serves the remote call-covering endpoint, and further signaling to the second switch both a call identifier of the call and that the call is a coverage call; in response to the second switch receiving the signaling, the second switch determining availability of the remote call-covering endpoint to receive the call; in response to the second switch determining that the remote call-covering endpoint is available, the second switch alerting the remote call-covering endpoint of the call and further signaling to the first switch that the remote call-covering endpoint is available; in response to the second switch determining that the remote call-covering endpoint is not available, the second switch abstaining from connecting the call to the remote call-covering endpoint and further signaling to the first switch that the remote call-covering endpoint is not available; and in response to the first switch receiving the signaling that the remote call-covering endpoint is not available, the first switch disconnecting the call from the second switch and further identifying an alternative call-covering endpoint for the call. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A first switch adapted to effect remote call coverage, comprising:
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means responsive to invocation of call coverage for a first call that is connected to the switch, for connecting the first call from the first switch to a second switch that serves a call-covering endpoint of the first call; means responsive to the invocation, for signaling from the first switch to the second switch that the first call is a coverage call, to cause the second switch to determine availability of the call-covering endpoint to receive the first call and signal the determined availability back to the first switch; means responsive to receipt of signaling from the second switch that the call-covering endpoint is available, for awaiting connection of the first call by the second switch to the call-covering endpoint; and means responsive to receipt of signaling from the second switch that the call-covering endpoint is not available, for disconnecting the first call from the second switch. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A first switch adapted for remotely covering a call in a telecommunications network comprising at least two interconnected switches each serving different endpoints, comprising:
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means responsive to invocation of call coverage for a first call connected to the first switch and destined for a destination endpoint served by the first switch, for identifying a call-covering endpoint for the first call from a coverage path of the destination endpoint; means responsive to identification of a remote call-covering endpoint for the first call from the coverage path, for connecting the first call to a second switch that serves the remote call-covering endpoint; means responsive to the identification, for signaling to the second switch both a call identifier of the first call and that the first call is a coverage call, to cause the second switch to determine and signal back an availability of the remote call-covering endpoint to receive the first call; means responsive to receipt of signaling from the second switch that a second call that is connected from the second switch to the first switch is a coverage call, for determining availability to receive the second call of a call-covering endpoint of the second call that is served by the first switch; means responsive to a determination that the call-covering endpoint of the second call is available, for alerting the call-covering endpoint of the second call to connect the second call to the call-covering endpoint of the second call; means responsive to the determination that the call-covering endpoint of the second call is available, for signaling to the second switch that the call-covering endpoint of the second call is available; means responsive to a determination that the call-covering endpoint of the second call is not available, for signaling to the second switch that the call-covering endpoint of the second call is not available, without attempting to connect the second call to the call-covering endpoint of the second call; means responsive to receipt of signaling from the second switch that the remote call-covering endpoint is available, for awaiting connection of the first call by the second switch to the remote call-covering endpoint; and means responsive to receipt of signaling from the second switch that the remote call-covering endpoint is not available, for disconnecting the first call from the second switch and further identifying an alternative call-covering endpoint for the call. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
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Specification