Method and system for network based call-pickup

• US 7,417,988 B1
• Filed: 06/30/2003
• Issued: 08/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: 3Com Corporation (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Grabelsky, David, Tripathi, Anoop, Wang, Guanglu
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu; Thong H
• Application Number:
  US10/610,521
• Time in Patent Office: 1,884 Days
• Field of Search: 370/401, 370/468, 370/389, 370/351, 370/352, 709/205, 379/162
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42212 Call pickup comprising simultaneous alerting H04M3/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/428 Arrangements for placing incoming calls on hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/58 Arrangements for transferring received calls from one subscriber to another; Arrangements affording interim conversations between either the calling or the called party and a third party substation line holding circuits H04M1/80
• 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

Abstract

A method and system for network based call-pickup is provided. In one embodiment a first user agent communicates in a communication session with a second user agent in a network telephony system. The second user agent may request that a third user agent replace the second user agent in the communication. The third user agent may be a park server, and when it replaces the second user agent, the communication session may thereby be parked at the park server. A fourth user agent may then request that the third user agent (e.g. park server) initiate a communication session between the first user agent and the fourth user agent. The third user agent may then instruct the first user agent to communicate with the fourth user agent. The parked communication session may thereby be picked up by the fourth user agent.

Claims

1. In a network telephony system, a method comprising:

a first user agent receiving a request from a second user agent to initiate a communication session between the second user agent and a third user agent, wherein the first user agent is in a first communication session with the third user agent when the request is received; and

responsive to the request, instructing the third user agent to establish a communication session with the second user agent that replaces the first communication session.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the request comprises receiving a session initiation protocol (SIP) message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user agent is in the first communication session with the third user agent through a real time protocol (RTP) media exchange.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein instructing the third user agent to establish a communication session with the second user agent comprises the step of re-issuing the request received from the second user agent to the third user agent.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user agent is a back-to-back user agent that functions as a server including termination of an incoming request, and as a user agent by re-issuing the incoming request.

6. In a session initiation protocol (SIP) based network telephony system in which a first user agent is communicating with a second user agent in a communication session, a method comprising:

the first user agent parking the communication session at a park server; and

a given user agent picking up the communication session by calling the park server and the park server instructing the second user agent to reinitiate the communication session with the given user agent.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first user agent parking the communication session at the park server comprises the first user agent sending a SIP REFER message to the park server instructing the park server to contact the second user agent so as to replace the first user agent in the communication session.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the park server instructs the second user agent to reinitiate the communication session with the given user agent by sending a SIP re-INVITE message to the second user agent.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising the first user agent receiving a call-in number from the park server after parking the communication session at the park server.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the given user agent picking up the communication session by calling into the park server comprises the given user agent calling the call-in number.

11. In a network telephony system in which a first user agent is communicating with a second user agent in a communication session, a method comprising:

the second user agent sending a message to a third user agent requesting that the third user agent replace the second user agent in the communication session;

the third user agent replacing the second user agent in the communication session;

a fourth user agent sending a request to the third user agent requesting to initiate a communication session with the first user agent;

the third user agent instructing the first user agent to communicate with the fourth user agent; and

the first user agent communicating with the fourth user agent.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first user agent is communicating with the second user agent in a session initiation protocol (SIP) based communication session.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the second user agent sending a message to a third user agent requesting that the third user agent replace the second user agent in the communication session comprises the second user agent parking the communication session with a park server.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second user agent parking the communication session with the park server comprises the second user agent sending a SIP REFER message to the third user agent instructing the third user agent to contact the first user agent so as to replace the second user agent in the communication session.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the second user agent receiving notification of a successful park including a call-pickup number.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising a user of the second user agent moving to a location of the fourth user agent.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the fourth user agent requesting to initiate a communication session with the first user agent comprises the fourth user agent calling the call-pickup number.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the third user agent replacing the second user agent in the communication session comprises the third user agent sending a SIP REPLACES message to the first user agent informing the first user agent to communicate with the third user agent.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the first user agent accepting replacement of the second user agent with the third user agent, and the first user agent sending a SIP BYE message to the second user agent.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the third user agent replacing the second user agent in the communication session comprises the third user agent communicating with the first user agent through an RTP media stream.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein the third user agent instructing the first user agent to communicate with the fourth user agent comprises the third user agent sending a SIP re-INVITE message to the first user agent instructing the first user agent to change a media transfer destination from the third user agent to the fourth user agent.

22. The method of claim 11, wherein the first user agent communicating with the fourth user agent comprises the first user agent communicating with the fourth user agent through an RTP media stream.

23. A session initiation protocol (SIP) based element comprising:

a first user agent in communication with a first communication device; and

a second user agent operable to receive from a second communication device a SIP request to initiate a communication session between the first communication device and the second communication device and to re-issue the SIP request to the first communication device instructing the first communication device to communicate with the second communication device.

24. A network telephony system comprising:

a first user agent communicating with a second user agent in a communication session; and

a park server operable to replace the first user agent in the communication session and, in response to a request to initiate a communication session between a third user agent and the second user agent, to instruct the second user agent to communicate with the third user agent.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the park server is a back-to-back user agent that functions as a server including termination of incoming requests, and as a user agent by re-issuing the incoming requests.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the park server instructs the second user agent to communicate with the third user agent using session initiation protocol (SIP) messaging.