Method, apparatus and article of manufacture for web-based control of a unified multi-service communication system

• US 7,111,056 B1
• Filed: 10/08/1999
• Issued: 09/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Ramey, K. Scott, David, Larry, Burger, Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): Donaghue, Larry D.
• Application Number:
  US09/414,590
• Time in Patent Office: 2,538 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/223
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/42 Graphical user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/20 hybrid systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42161 via computer interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42314 in private branch exchanges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for controlling the call control, service control, and user interface functions of a legacy telephone system from a web application. The web application communicates with a legacy call server and controls the legacy call server. A web application also communicates with a legacy telephony device and controls the legacy telephony device. A communication channel may be provided between the web application and the legacy call server, and data transferred over the communication channel is translated to a form that each can understand. The data may be a call control command or a service control command. A communication channel may be provided between the web application and the legacy telephony device, and data transferred over the communication channel is translated to a form that each can understand. The data may be translated to a legacy telephony device data format, and to a web API data format. An abstraction may be used to represent a telephony device or a class of telephony devices having similar characteristics. Access to the telephony device may be arbitrated, and data from the telephony device may be routed. A service plugin may be provided as an interface to the web application. An execution environment may be provided to allows dynamic insertion of service plugins. The data being transferred may be mapped to a telephony device resource. The web application may be an interface to another telephony device, so that telephony devices can communicate peer to peer.

Claims

1. A method for web-based control of a legacy telephone system, comprising:

enabling a legacy call server to communicate with a web application by providing a call server wrapper program having a first web application program interface (API) and a call server system interface, the call server wrapper program operable for;

receiving at the first web API, via an internet protocol (IP) network, a command from the web application in a web application data format,

translating the command from the web application data format into a call server system data format, and

sending the command in the call server system data format to the call server; and

enabling a legacy telephony device to communicate with the web application by providing a telephony device wrapper program having a second web application program interface (API) and a telephony device interface, the telephony device wrapper program operable for;

receiving at the second web API, via the internet protocol (IP) network, data from the web application in a web application data format,

translating the data from the web application data format into a telephony device data format, and

and sending the data in the telephony device data format to the telephony device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the legacy call server to communicate with the web application comprises:

providing a communication channel between the legacy call server and the web application.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein providing a communication channel comprises:

using a user proxy server to control access to the legacy call server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the command comprises a one of a call control command and a service control command.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling a legacy telephony device to communicate with the web application comprises:

providing a communication channel between the legacy telephony device and the web application.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

using a telephony device abstraction.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein using a telephony device abstraction comprises:

using an abstraction for a class of telephony devices.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a service plugin operable for communicating between the second web API of the telephony device wrapper program and the web application.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the web application is an interface to a telephony device.

10. An apparatus for web-based control of a legacy telephone system, comprising:

means for enabling a legacy call server to communicate with a web application by providing a call server wrapper program having a first web application program interface (API) and a call server system interface, the call server wrapper program operable for;

receiving at the first web API, via an internet protocol (IP) network, a command from the web application in a web application data format,

translating the command from the web application data format into a call server system data format, and

sending the command in the call server system data format to the call server; and

means for enabling a legacy telephony device to communicate with the web application by providing a telephony device wrapper program having a second web application program interface (API) and a telephony device interface, the telephony device wrapper program operable for;

receiving at the second web API, via the internet protocol (IP) network, data CD from the web application in a web application data format,

translating the data from the web application data format into a telephony device data format, and

and sending the data in the telephony device data format to the telephony device.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for enabling the legacy call server to communicate with the web application comprises:

means for providing a communication channel between the legacy call server and the web application.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the means for providing a communication channel comprises:

means for using a user proxy server to control access to the legacy call server.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the command comprises a one of a call control command and a service control command.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for enabling a legacy telephony device to communicate with the web application comprises:

means for providing a communication channel between the legacy telephony device and the web application.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, comprising:

means for using a telephony device abstraction.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the means for using a telephony device abstraction comprises:

means for using an abstraction for a class of telephony devices.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for providing a service plugin operable for communicating between the second web API of the telephony device wrapper program and the web application.

18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the web application is an interface to a telephony device.

19. A computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for web-based control of a legacy telephone system, the computer readable code operable for;

enabling a legacy call server to communicate with a web application by providing a call server wrapper program having a first web application program interface (API) and a call server system interface, the call server wrapper program operable for;

receiving at the first web API, via an internet protocol (IP) network, a command from the web application in a web application data format,

translating the command from the web application data format into a call server system data format, and

sending the command in the call server system data format to the call server; and

enabling a legacy telephony device to communicate with the web application by providing a telephony device wrapper program having a second web application program interface (API) and a telephony device interface, the telephony device wrapper program operable for;

receiving at the second web API, via the internet protocol (IP) network, data from the web application in a web application data format,

translating the data from the web application data format into a telephony device data format, and

and sending the data in the telephony device data format to the telephony device.

20. A system for enabling a web application to control a legacy telephone system comprising:

a web application for independently controlling a legacy call server coupled to the telephone system and a legacy telephony device;

a call server wrapper having a first web application program interface (API) and a call server system interface for enabling the web application to communicate with the legacy call server, the first web API operable for receiving web application data in a first format over an internet protocol (IP) network from the web application and translating the received web application data into a second format, the call server system interface operable for transmitting the translated web application data in the second format over the IP network to the legacy call server; and

a telephony device wrapper having a second web application program interface (API) and a telephony device interface for enabling the web application to communicate with the legacy telephony device, the second web API operable for receiving web application data in a first format over the IP network from the web application and translating the received web application data into a second format, the telephony device interface operable for transmitting the translated web application data in the second format over the IP network to the legacy telephony device.

21. A system for enabling a web application to control a legacy telephone system comprising:

a web application for independently controlling a legacy call server and a legacy telephony device;

a call server wrapper for enabling the web application to communicate with the legacy call server, the call server wrapper having a first interface operable for receiving web application data in a first format over an internet protocol (IP) network from the web application and translating the received web application data into a second format, the call server wrapper having a second interface operable for transmitting the translated web application data in the second format over the IP network to the legacy call server; and

a telephony device wrapper for enabling the web application to communicate with the legacy telephony device, the telephony device wrapper having a first interface operable for receiving web application data in a first format over the IP network from the web application and translating the received web application data into a second format, the telephony device wrapper having a second interface operable for transmitting the translated web application data in the second format over the IP network to the legacy telephony device.