Multi-protocol interface apparatus at a service control point

• US 6,122,363 A
• Filed: 07/24/1998
• Issued: 09/19/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MCI Communications Corporation (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Olson, Jeffrey D., Friedlander, Jay M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zele, Krista
• Assistant Examiner(s): Deane, Jr., William J.
• Application Number:
  US09/122,131
• Time in Patent Office: 788 Days
• Field of Search: 379/201, 379/207, 379/219, 379/220, 379/221, 379/224, 379/230, 379/242, 379/243, 379/244, 379/245, 379/246, 379/265, 370/466, 370/467, 370/469, 700/83
• US Class Current: 379/230
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0886 the card reader being portable for interacting with a POS or ECR in realizing a payment transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42323 PBX's with CTI arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0029 Provisions for intelligent networking

Abstract

A system that processes telecommunications calls from a switch to provide call services. The system supports transactional and conversational protocols. For conversational protocols, call context is maintained at a service control point during call processing. Transactional and conversational messages are mapped to and from a generic message structure to simplify the input and output interfaces of supported service applications. Service control points comprise Communications Servers and Transaction Servers. Communications Servers are coupled by a WAN to provide distributed processing and enhance reliability and load balancing. A method processes conversational protocol messages while maintaining call context at a Communications Server. A method supports multiple-service calls by redirecting processing from one Service Application executing on an original service control point to another Service Application without communicating with the originating switch between services. The other Service Application may execute on a separate service control point coupled to the original service control point by a WAN.

Claims

1. A system for processing a call received from a switch, said call having a first service request message that includes a dialog identifier and defines a first stage of said call, said system comprising:

a switch interface couple to receive said first service request message from said switch;

a storage device coupled to said switch interface;

a call context data record that is stored in said storage device with reference to said dialog identifier; and

a first service application coupled to receive said first service request message and said call context data record from said switch interface for processing said first stage of said call based on said first service request message and said call context data record, said first service application executes in a transaction server coupled to receive said first service request message and said call context data record from said switch interface.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said call further includes a second service request message having said dialog identifier and defining a second stage of said call, said system further comprising:

a second service application coupled to receive said second service request message and said call context data record from said switch interface for processing said second stage of said call based on said second service request message and said call context data record, said second service application executes in a transaction server coupled to receive said second service request message and said call context data record from said switch interface.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising a service response message that stores a result of the processing by said first service application.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said switch interface comprises a first communications server coupled to receive said first service request message from said switch.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said first communications server further comprises a network interface for coupling said first communications server with a second communications server.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said first service application executes in a transaction server coupled to receive said first service request message and said call context data record from said switch interface.

7. A system for processing a call received from a switch, said call having a first service request message that includes a dialog identifier and defines a first stage of said call, said system comprising:

a switch interface coupled to receive said first service request message from said switch;

a context storage device coupled to said switch interface for storing a call context data record with reference to said dialog identifier; and

a transaction server for executing a first service application coupled to receive said first service request message and said call context data record from said switch interface and to process said first stage of said call based on said first service request message and said call context data record.

8. A transaction server for processing a call defined by a protocol-specific service request message received from a communications server, said transaction server comprising:

a parser that generates a generic service request message based upon said protocol-specific service request message;

a service application that receives said generic service request message from said parser and processes said generic service request message to generate a generic service response message; and

a formatter that receives said generic service response message from said service application and generates a protocol-specific response message to send to said communications server.

9. A communications server coupled to receive a service request message having a service key from a switch, said communications server comprising:

a conversational protocol interface coupled to receive said service request message from said switch;

a protocol server coupled to said conversational protocol interface for extracting a protocol-specific service request from said service request message;

a transaction server list of one or more transactions servers coupled to said communications server; and

a transaction server interface coupled to receive said protocol-specific service request from said protocol server, said transaction server interface being capable of selecting one of said transaction servers from said transaction server list based on said service key and sending said protocol-specific service request to said selected transaction server.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein said service request message includes a dialog identifier, said system further comprising:

a call context data record list coupled to said transaction server interface for storing one or more available call context data records;

said transaction server interface being capable of selecting one of said available call context data records from said call context data record list based on said dialog identifier and sending said selected call context data record to said selected transaction server.

11. A system for processing a call received from a switch, said call comprising a request message that includes a protocol-specific service request message and dialog identifier, said system comprising:

means for receiving said request message from a switch;

means for storing a call context data record associated with said call;

means for extracting said protocol-specific service request message from said request message;

means for processing said call based on said protocol-specific service request message and said call context data record;

means for modifying said call context data record to reflect the processing of said call by a service application; and

means for returning said call context data record to said means for storing.

12. A system for processing a call received from a switch, said call comprising a request message that includes a protocol-specific service request message and dialog identifier, said system comprising:

means for receiving said request message from a switch;

means for storing a call context data record associated with said call;

means for extracting said protocol-specific service request message from said request message;

means for parsing said protocol-specific service request message to produce a generic service request message;

means for processing said call based on said generic service request message and said call context data record;

means for modifying said call context data record to reflect the processing of said call by a service application; and

means for returning said call context data record to said means for storing.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising:

means for returning a generic service response message from said means for processing, said generic service response message defining a processing result from said means for processing;

means for formatting said generic service response message into a protocol-specific service response message; and

means for encapsulating said protocol-specific service response message into a service response message for transmission to said switch.

14. A method for processing in a service control point a request message having a dialog identifier and a service key, said method comprising:

storing at least one call context data record in said service control point;

receiving said request message in said service control point;

selecting one of said at least one call context data record based on said dialog identifier of said request message;

selecting a service application based on said service key, said service application having a processing sequence including multiple stages;

sending said request message and said selected call context data record to said selected service application;

processing said request message beginning at a proper processing point in said selected service application according to said request message and said selected call context data record;

modifying said selected call context data record responsive to said processing of said request message; and

storing said selected call context data record at said service control point, responsive to said modifying step.

15. A system for processing a multiple service call from an originating switch, said call requesting a first service identified by a first service key in a first service request message received from said originating switch, said system comprising:

a first service application coupled to receive and process said first service request message, said first service application being capable of generating a first service response message having a second service key indicating a second service;

a second service application associated with said second service key;

a call context data record stored in a storage device in said system and resulting from said first service; and

a switch interface coupled to said first and second service applications that, responsive to said second service key of said first service response message, generates a second service request message including said second service key, said switch interface being capable of selecting said second service application associated with said second service key and sending said second service request message and said call context data record to said second service application for processing said second service.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein said first and second service applications are executing in a single service control point.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein said first service application executes in a first service control point and said second service application executes in a second service control point, said first and second service control points being coupled by a data communication network, bypassing said originating switch.

18. The system of claim 15 further comprising a transfer response record passed by said first service application in said call context data record to said switch interface, said transfer response record being passed to said second service application for use in processing said second service.

19. A method for processing a call from an originating switch requesting a first service and a second service, said method comprising:

storing a call context data record in a service control point having a switch interface;

receiving a request message having a dialog identifier and a service key;

sending said call context data record and said request message from said switch interface to a first service application selected based on said service key;

processing said request message in said first service application to modify said call context data record;

returning said call context data record and a response message including a second service key to said switch interface;

sending a second request message including said second service key and said call context data record to a second service application selected based on said second service key; and

processing said second request message in said second service application, based on said call context data record.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of processing in said first service application comprises the step of processing said request message in said first service application executing in a first service control point.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of processing in said second service application comprises the step of processing said second request message in said second service application executing in a second service control point.

22. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of sending to a second service application comprises the step of transmitting said second service key and said call context data record to a second switch interface in a second service control point via a communications network that bypasses said originating switch.

23. A system for processing a call received from a switch, said call comprising a first service and a second service, said call being initiated by a first service request message having a dialog identifier and a first service key that indicates said first service, said system comprising:

a first service control point having a first switch interface coupled to said switch;

a storage device coupled to said first switch interface;

a call context data record stored in said storage device and associated with said call based on said dialog identifier, said call context data record including a transfer response field;

a first service application executing in said first service control point and being coupled to receive said first service request message and said call context data record from said first switch interface, said first service application being selected to process said first service request message based on said first service key;

a first service response message passed by said first service application in said call context data record to said first switch interface;

a second service control point having a second switch interface coupled to said first switch interface;

a second service application executing in said second service control point for processing said second service;

a transfer response record passed by said first service application in said call context data record to said first switch interface;

a second service request message generated by said first switch interface and sent to said second service application, said transfer response record including data required to transfer said second service request message to said second service application; and

a second service response message generated by said second service application and sent to said first switch interface.

24. A program storage media, readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said computer for processing in a service control point a request message having a dialog identifier and a service key, the program comprising instructions for:

storing at least one call context data record in said service control point;

receiving said request message in said service control point;

selecting one of said at least one call context data record based on said dialog identifier of said request message;

selecting a service application based on said service key, said service application having a processing sequence including multiple stages;

sending said request message and said selected call context data record to said selected service application;

processing said request message beginning at a proper processing point in said selected service application according to said request message and said selected call context data record;

modifying said selected call context data record responsive to said processing of said request message; and

storing said selected call context data record at said service control point, responsive to said modifying step.

25. A program storage media, readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said computer for processing a call from an originating switch requesting a first service and a second service, the program comprising instructions for:

storing a call context data record in a service control point having a switch interface;

receiving a request message having a dialog identifier and a service key;

sending said call context record and said request message from said switch interface to a first service application selected based on said service key;

processing said request message in said first service application to modify said call context record;

returning said call context data record and a response message including a second service key to said switch interface;

sending a second request message including said second service key and said call context data record to a second service application selected based on said second service key; and

processing said second request message in said second service application, based on said first context data record.