Internet protocol telephony voice/video message deposit and retrieval

• US 6,434,143 B1
• Filed: 11/08/1999
• Issued: 08/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: OL Security LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: MCI WorldCom, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Donovan, Steven R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kizou, Hassan
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOGSDON, JOSEPH B
• Application Number:
  US09/436,795
• Time in Patent Office: 1,009 Days
• Field of Search: 370/351, 370/352, 370/356, 370/912, 379/67.1, 379/70, 379/88.17, 379/88.23, 379/88.25, 379/88.26, 379/900
• US Class Current: 370/356
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5307 for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53308 Message originator indirectly connected to the message centre, e.g. after detection of busy or absent state of a called party
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 370/912 Packet communications
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/90 Internet, e.g. Internet phone, webphone, internet-based telephony

Abstract

A method for signaling an Integrated Messaging System (IMS) on an Internet Protocol (IP) based network to deposit a message, including the steps of sending a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) SIP INVITE request to the IMS indicating a message deposit action; receiving a corresponding SIP message from the IMS agreeing to participate in the message deposit action; and sending an SIP acknowledge message to the IMS confirming receipt of the corresponding SIP message; and depositing the message in a destination mailbox. A method of signaling an IMS on an IP based network to retrieve a deposited message, the method including the steps of sending a SIP INVITE request to the IMS indicating a message retrieval action; receiving a corresponding SIP message from the IMS agreeing to participate in the message retrieval action; sending an SIP acknowledge message to the IMS confirming receipt of the corresponding SIP message; and retrieving the deposited message from a mailbox corresponding to known account information.

Claims

1. A method of signaling an Integrated Messaging System (IMS) on an Internet Protocol (IP) based network to deposit a message, comprising the steps of:

sending a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) INVITE request to the IMS indicating a message deposit action;

receiving a corresponding SIP message from the IMS agreeing to participate in the message deposit action; and

sending an SIP acknowledge message to the IMS confirming receipt of the corresponding SIP message.

2. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of depositing the message in a destination mailbox.

3. The method recited in claim 2, wherein the deposited message includes voice data.

4. The method recited in claim 2, wherein the deposited message includes video data.

5. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the SIP INVITE request includes a Require header following the SIP Require header protocol extension mechanism.

6. The method recited in claim 5, wherein the Require header includes at least a first and second parameter, wherein the first parameter indicates the message deposit action to the IMS and the second parameter is a call forwarding parameter.

7. The method recited in claim 6, wherein the call forwarding parameter identifies whether the message was deposited unconditionally or conditionally based on a busy signal condition of a called party or a no answer condition of the called party.

8. A method of signaling an Integrated Messaging System (IMS) on an Internet Protocol (IP) based network to retrieve a deposited message, comprising the steps of:

sending a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) INVITE request to the IMS indicating a message retrieval action;

receiving a corresponding SIP message from the IMS agreeing to participate in the message retrieval action; and

sending an SIP acknowledge message to the IMS confirming receipt of the corresponding SIP message.

9. The method recited in claim 8, wherein the IMS sends and receives messages from a secure Network Server (NS).

10. The method recited in claim 8, further comprising the step of retrieving the deposited message from a mailbox corresponding to known account information.

11. The method recited in claim 10, wherein the known account information includes an account identification which has been authenticated.

12. The method recited in claim 10, wherein the known account information includes an account identification which is not authenticated, and wherein the method includes the further step of prompting a user for a password.

13. The method recited in claim 10, wherein the known account information includes no account identification, and wherein the method includes the further step of prompting a user for a user name and password.

14. The method recited in claim 12, further comprising the step of asking the user for a user name and a new password when an incorrect password is entered for the prompted password.

15. The method recited in claim 10, wherein the retrieved message includes voice data.

16. The method recited in claim 10, wherein the retrieved message includes video.

17. The method recited in claim 8, wherein the SIP INVITE request includes a Require header following the SIP Require header protocol extension mechanism.

18. The method recited in claim 17, wherein the Require header includes at least a first parameter, wherein the first parameter indicates the message retrieval action to the IMS.

19. The method recited in claim 8, wherein an IMS account user is notified when the deposited message is ready for retrieval.

20. A method of signaling an Integrated Messaging System (IMS) on an Internet Protocol (IP) based network to deposit a message and retrieve the deposited message, comprising the steps of:

sending a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) INVITE request to the IMS indicating a message deposit action;

receiving a corresponding SIP message from the IMS agreeing to participate in the message deposit action;

sending an SIP acknowledge message to the IMS confirming receipt of the corresponding SIP message;

depositing the message in a destination mailbox;

sending a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) INVITE request to the IMS indicating a message retrieval action;

receiving a corresponding SIP message from the IMS agreeing to participate in the message retrieval action;

sending an SIP acknowledge message to the IMS confirming receipt of the corresponding SIP message; and

retrieving the deposited message from the destination mailbox, wherein the destination mailbox corresponds to known account information.