Architecture and implementation for control of context aware call processing with local feature definition

• US 7,406,170 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2003
• Issued: 07/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RingCentral Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mitel Networks Corporation
• Inventors: Gray, Thomas A., Liscano, Ramiro
• Primary Examiner(s): ADDY, THJUAN KNOWLIN
• Application Number:
  US10/631,811
• Publication Number:
  US 20050259802A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,824 Days
• Field of Search: 37920101-20112, 379/265.02, 379/211.01, 719310-313, 719/318, 719/328, 717/100, 717/101, 717/103, 340/7.29, 709/205, 709/217, 715/744
• US Class Current: 379/265.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2011 Service processing based on information specified by a party before or during a call, e.g. information, tone or routing selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2072 Schedules, e.g. personal calendars
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4217 Managing service interactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• 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: H04Q 2213/13054 Expert system
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13335 Simulation, emulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0016 Arrangements providing connection between exchanges

Abstract

A communication system comprising one or more ubiquitous sensor(s) for generating awareness data relating to a user, a context engine for receiving and processing the awareness data to determine the user'"'"'s current context for the purpose of event handling, a policy engine for receiving and relating at least one pertinent evidential indicator of an incoming event from a caller to the user'"'"'s current context and in response selecting a preferred event handling feature, and a delivery agent for executing the preferred event handling feature.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

at least one ubiquitous sensor for generating awareness data relating to a user;

a context engine for receiving and processing said awareness data to determine the user'"'"'s current context for the purpose of event handling;

a policy engine for receiving and relating at least one pertinent evidential indicator of an incoming event from a caller to said user'"'"'s current context and in response selecting a preferred event handling feature; and

a delivery agent for executing said preferred event handling feature; and

wherein

said policy engine comprises a context update for developing and expressing said at least one pertinent evidential indicator as a fuzzy variable, and a feature selection policies for receiving said at least one pertinent evidential indicator and in response utilizing forward chaining with fuzzy reasoning to generate priorities among a plurality of proposed features and selecting said preferred event handling feature to have a least intrusiveness relative to event handling policies set by said user.

2. A communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said context engine comprises an algorithm for processing said awareness data into availability information and applying said availability information to said policy engine as tuple space assertions.

3. A communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one pertinent evidential indicator includes at least one of caller, identity, role relationship between caller and said user, group or project membership, location of said user, current activity of said user, and subject matter of said event.

4. A communication system as claimed claim 1, wherein said context update block prompts said user to select said preferred event handling feature.

5. A communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said feature selection policies receives additional event handling policies set by an administrator.

6. A communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said feature selection policies block receives said event handling policies from said user as ACCEPT-CONTACT and REJECT-CONTACT headers to identify SIP endpoints.

7. A communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said policy engine stores a plurality of unique identifiers for identifying specific aspects of said user'"'"'s identity that are related to said user'"'"'s context and selecting a preferred event handling feature based on said aspects to create personalized features.

8. A communication system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said policy engine further comprises a context update block for developing and expressing said at least one pertinent evidential indicator as a fuzzy variable, and a feature selection policies block for receiving said at least one pertinent evidential indicator and in response utilizing forward chaining with fuzzy reasoning to generate priorities among a plurality of proposed features and selecting said preferred event handling feature to have the least intrusiveness relative to event handling policies set by said user.

9. A communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one pertinent evidential indicator includes at least one of caller identity, role relationship between caller and said user, group or project membership, location of said user, current activity of said user, and subject matter of said event.

10. A communication system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said at least one pertinent evidential indicator includes at least one of caller identity, role relationship between caller and said user, group or project membership, location of said user, current activity of said user, and subject matter of said event.

11. A communication system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said feature selection policies block receives additional event handling policies set by an administrator.

12. A communication system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said feature selection policies receives said event handling policies from said user as ACCEPT-CONTACT and REJECT-CONTACT headers to identify SIP endpoints.

13. A communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said policy engine stores a plurality of unique identifiers for identifying specific aspects of said user'"'"'s identity that are related to said use'"'"'s context and selecting a preferred event handling feature based on said aspects to create personalized features.

14. A communication system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said policy engine stores a plurality of unique identifiers for identifying specific aspects of said user'"'"'s identity that are related to said user'"'"'s context and selecting a preferred event handling feature based on said aspects to create personalized features.

15. A communication system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said policy engine stores a plurality of unique identifiers for identifying specific aspects of said user'"'"'s identity that are related to said user'"'"'s context and selecting a preferred event handling feature based on said aspects to create personalized features.

16. A communication system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said policy engine stores a plurality of unique identifiers for identifying specific aspects of said user'"'"'s identity that are related to said user'"'"'s context and selecting a preferred event handling feature based on said aspects to create personalized features.

17. A communication system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said policy engine stores a plurality of unique identifiers for identifying specific aspects of said user'"'"'s identity that are related to said user'"'"'s context and selecting a preferred event handling feature based on said aspects to create personalized features.

18. A communication system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said policy engine stores a plurality of unique identifiers for identifying specific aspects of said user'"'"'s identity that are related to said user'"'"'s context and selecting a preferred event handling feature based on said aspects to create personalized features.