Distributed system for sharing of communication service resources between devices and users
First Claim
1. A communications system, comprising:
- a first cluster of user computing devices associated with a first user, said first cluster of user computing devices providing access to a plurality of communication service resources of the first user;
a second cluster of user computing devices associated with a second user, said second cluster of computing devices providing access to a plurality of communication service resources of the second user; and
distributed call management software that runs at least partly on the first and second clusters of user computing devices, said distributed call management software providing functionality for the first user to selectively grant permission to the second user to use one or more of the communication service resources of the first user to place calls, and providing functionality for the second user to selectively grant permission to the first user to use one or more of the communication service resources of the second user to place calls, said distributed call management software further including functionality for automatically routing calls according to said permissions.
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Abstract
A distributed software system provides functionality for users to cluster together various types of computing devices (PCs, mobile phones, PDAs, set top boxes, IP appliances, etc.) and associated service resources (landline telephone, mobile telephone, long distance service, VoIP, instant messaging, etc.) to form a service cluster, and to effectively bind the service cluster to a common user identity. The software system enables each service resource that is natively available to a device in the cluster to be accessed and used by the other devices in the cluster. For example, in one embodiment, a call placed to any device in the cluster can be routed to and answered on any other device in the cluster, transparently to the caller. A cluster owner can also grant permissions to other users to use particular service resources available to the cluster. Routing of calls is handled efficiently using a distributed hash table system.
256 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A communications system, comprising:
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a first cluster of user computing devices associated with a first user, said first cluster of user computing devices providing access to a plurality of communication service resources of the first user; a second cluster of user computing devices associated with a second user, said second cluster of computing devices providing access to a plurality of communication service resources of the second user; and distributed call management software that runs at least partly on the first and second clusters of user computing devices, said distributed call management software providing functionality for the first user to selectively grant permission to the second user to use one or more of the communication service resources of the first user to place calls, and providing functionality for the second user to selectively grant permission to the first user to use one or more of the communication service resources of the second user to place calls, said distributed call management software further including functionality for automatically routing calls according to said permissions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A computer-implemented method of sharing service resources, the method comprising:
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receiving, and storing on a computing device of a first user, permission data representing a permission granted by the first user to a second user to use a service resource of the first user, said service resource selected from a plurality of service resources associated with a plurality of devices of the first user, said service resource providing communication functionality for placing calls; communicating the permission data over a network to a computing device of the second user, wherein the permission data is communicated to the computing device of the second user automatically via execution of distributed call management software that runs at least partly on the computing devices of the first and second users; and on the computing device of the second user, using the permission data to route a call initiated by the second user to cause the call to be placed using the service resource of the first user. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. Computer storage comprising distributed call management software adapted to run at least partly on a first cluster of user computing devices associated with a first user and a second cluster of user computing devices associated with a second user, said first cluster of user computing devices providing access to a plurality of communication service resources of the first user;
- and said second cluster of user computing devices providing access to a plurality of communication service resources of the second user, said distributed call management software providing functionality for the first user to selectively grant permission to the second user to use one or more of the communication service resources of the first user to place calls, and providing functionality for the second user to selectively grant permission to the first user to use one or more of the communication service resources of the second user to place calls, said distributed call management software further including functionality for automatically routing calls according to said permissions.
- View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
Specification