Method and system for automatic handling of invitations to join communications sessions in a virtual team environment

• US 7,472,352 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2006
• Issued: 12/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bell Canada (BCE Incorporated), Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Mercier, Denis, Thompson, Christopher, Romaniuk, Roman, Liversidge, Douglas E., Williams, L. Lloyd, Grossner, Clifford P., Zdralek, James F., Beaton, Brian F., Fortier, Stéphane F., Bouchard, Jean J., Smith, Colin D. R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo; Weilun
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chuong; Truc T
• Application Number:
  US11/366,446
• Publication Number:
  US 20070192410A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,033 Days
• Field of Search: 715/717, 715/720, 715/722, 715/758, 715/718, 715/719, 715/751, 715/752, 715/753, 715/755, 715/788, 715/800
• US Class Current: 715/758
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/148 Migration or transfer of sessions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2044 Group features, e.g. closed user group
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5018 Initiating a conference during a two-party conversation, i.e. three-party-service or three-way-call computer conference organisation arrangements H04L12/1818
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5063 Centrally initiated conference, i.e. Conference server dials participants computer conference organisation arrangements H04L12/1818
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/35 virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42093 Notifying the calling party of information on the called or connected party
• 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 3/567 Multimedia conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0027 Collaboration services where a computer is used for data transfer and the telephone is used for telephonic communication

Abstract

A collaboration services suite is adapted to support a plurality of integrated telecommunications services accessed by geographically dispersed team members using a virtual team environment (VTE) client that generates a graphical user interface (GUI) for each of the respective team members. Communications sessions are automatically set up by the collaboration services suite in response to request messages generated by the VTE client when a team member initiates a communications session request using the GUI. Team members require no knowledge of another team member'"'"'s communications device address in order to initiate a communications session. The collaboration services suite includes a VTE server that communicates with the VTE clients, a presence engine that collects and maintains a status of communications devices specified in a current profile of the team member; and, a call server for handling setup and control of a voice component of each communications session completed.

Claims

1. A system for inviting a person to join a communications session initiated using a team member interface of a virtual team environment, comprising:

a collaboration services suite for;

receiving an invitation request message from the team member interface of a member of the team, the invitation request message including an identification of the person to be invited to join the communications session, and an identification of a desired type of communication;

identifying a preferred communications device of the person to be invited for the communications session, based on the received invitation request message and dynamically maintained availability information of the person to be invited, the availability information comprising communications information identifying types of communication in which the person prefers to participate, and, for each identified type of communication, a respective communication device that the person prefers to use to participate in that type of communication, wherein at least one communication device is only reachable through a Switched Telephone Network (STN);

identifying a preferred communications medium associated with the person for handling an invitation to join the communications session; and

sending an invitation from the collaboration services suite to the person using the identified preferred communications medium.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the collaboration services suite comprises at least one server connected to a data network to enable communications with the team member interface, and at least one virtual switching point in a switched telephone network for establishing and controlling voice communications sessions.

3. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the at least one server performs functions of managing connections with the team member interface;

storing team member profiles;

gathering dynamic availability information and dynamically distributing the information to team member interfaces; and

sending voice communications request messages to the virtual switching point.

4. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the virtual switching point is a physical node in a public switched telephone signaling network, and a virtual node in the public switched telephone network.

5. A system as claimed in claim 4 wherein the virtual switching point is a virtual node associated with selected Integrated Services Digital Network User Part (ISUP) trunks in the PSTN, so that the virtual switching point is in a signaling path for calls routed to the selected ISUP trunks.

6. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the communications session to which the person is invited is a multimedia communications session, and the collaboration services suite sends an Internet Protocol (IP) address of an active IP device used by the person to a client application used by the team member who sent the invitation, and client applications used by any other team members involved in the communications session, to permit the client applications to automatically exchange data with the active device when the multimedia session is established.

7. A system as claimed in claim 6 wherein the data is exchanged using an IP multicast protocol.

8. A system as claimed in claim 6 wherein the data exchanged permits the active device to build and update a multimedia window used for the communications session.

9. A system as claimed in claim 6 wherein the data exchanged permits the client applications to rebuild multimedia windows they maintain for the multimedia communications session to include content contributed by the active device.

10. A system as claimed in claim 6 wherein the method further comprises a step of setting up a voice path through a switched telephone network to carry voice content associated with the multimedia communications session.

11. A method of inviting a person to join a communications session initiated using a collaboration services suite accessed from a team member interface of a virtual team environment, comprising steps of:

at the collaboration services suite;

receiving an invitation request message from the team member interface of a member of the team, the invitation request message including an identification of the person to be invited to join the communications session, and an identification of a desired type of communication;

identifying a preferred communications device of the person to be invited for the communications session, based on the received invitation request message and dynamically maintained availability information of the person to be invited, the availability information comprising communications information identifying types of communication in which the person prefers to participate, and, for each identified type of communication, a respective communication device that the person prefers to use to participate in that type of communication, wherein at least one communication device is only reachable through a Switched Telephone Network (STN);

identifying a preferred communications medium associated with the person for handling an invitation to join the communications session; and

sending an invitation from the collaboration services suite to the person using the identified preferred communications medium.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein the identification of the communications type comprises a communications session identifier that is associated with a communications session that is in progress.

13. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein the invitation request message further includes at least one of a list of participants and invitees, and any meeting notes input prior to a sending of the invitation.

14. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein the invitation request message further includes at least one of a topic related to the communications session, and a text message that describes a purpose of the communications session.

15. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein the communications type is any one of an instant text messaging session, a voice call session and a multimedia session.

16. A method as claimed in claim 11 further comprising determining whether the person is a team member.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16 further comprising, if the person is a team member, examining a current profile associated with the team member to determine the preferred communications medium and using the dynamic availability information maintained by the collaboration services suite to determine if the preferred communications medium is available for handling the invitation.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein the preferred communications medium for sending the invitation comprises the team member interface of the person.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18 wherein the invitation message opens a communications session invitation window on the team member interface.

20. A method as claimed in claim 19 wherein the communications session invitation window displays a list of participants in the communications session.

21. A method as claimed in claim 20 wherein the communications session invitation window displays a list of invitees to the communications session.

22. A method as claimed in claim 20 wherein the communications invitation window further displays a topic of discussion related to the communications session.

23. A method as claimed in claim 22 wherein the communications invitation window further displays meeting notes entered by the participants in the commutations session.

24. A method as claimed in claim 20 wherein the invitation window displays options to join the communications session, decline the communications session invitation, or indicate a desire to join the communications session at a later time.

25. A method as claimed in claim 24 wherein the invitation window permits a reply message to be returned with any one of the options selected for a response.

26. A method as claimed in claim 24 wherein if the person elects to join the communications session, a message is sent by the team member interface to the collaboration services suite, and the collaboration services suite joins the person to the commutations session.

27. A method as claimed in claim 25 wherein the reply message is displayed on the team member interface of all team members participating in the communications session.

28. A method as claimed in claim 26 wherein the collaboration services suite further advises each team member of the change in status of the person when the person is joined to the communications session.

29. A method as claimed in claim 28 wherein if the desired type of communication is an instant messaging session, a connection manager is instructed to copy all text messages to the person'"'"'s preferred text messaging device, and to copy all text messages from the person'"'"'s preferred text messaging device to other members of the communications session.

30. A method as claimed in claim 28 wherein if the desired type of communication is a voice conference session, a virtual switching point is instructed to join the person'"'"'s preferred voice communications device to the voice conference.

31. A method as claimed in claim 30 wherein, if the person is not a team member, the preferred voice communication device is determined using a number supplied in the invitation request message.

32. A method as claimed in claim 30 wherein joining the preferred voice communications device to the voice communications session comprises steps of:

sending a first Initial Address Message (IAM) to a first Service Switching Point (SSP) in a switched telephone network to inform the first SSP of an inbound call to the person'"'"'s preferred voice communications device, a circuit identification code (CIC) of the IAM indicating that the inbound call is carried by an Enhanced Integrated Services Digital Network User Part (E-ISUP) trunk in which the virtual switching point is a logical SSP;

sending a second IAM to a second SSP in the switched telephone network, the first and second SSPs being interconnected by the EISUP trunk, the IAM informing the second SSP of an inbound call on the E-ISUP trunk, the inbound call having a called number designating a conference bridge supporting the voice communications session; and

sending a signaling message to the conference bridge to instruct the conference bridge to connect the call from the second SSP to the voice communications session.

33. A method as claimed in claim 32 wherein the signaling message sent to the conference bridge includes a session identifier to permit the conference bridge to associate the call to the voice communications session.

34. A method as claimed in claim 32 further comprising a step of playing an announcement to the person when the conference bridge answers the inbound call, to advise the person that they are being joined to the communications session.

35. A method as claimed in claim 34 further comprising a step of playing a audio signal to each member of the communications session when the conference bridge connects the person to the communications session.

36. A method as claimed in claim 34 further comprising a step of displaying a text message on a team member interface when the conference bridge connects the person to the communications session.

37. A method as claimed in claim 34 further comprising a step of updating a communications session display when the conference bridge connects the person to the communications session.

38. A method as claimed in claim 18 wherein the preferred communications medium comprises a text device, if the team member interface is not available.

39. A method as claimed in claim 38 wherein the text device displays a communications session type in the invitation window and a personal identifier associated with a team member that sent the invitation.

40. A method as claimed in claim 38 wherein:

the preferred communications medium comprises a voice communications device of the person, if the text device is not available.

41. A method as claimed in claim 40 wherein an interactive voice response unit (IVR) plays an announcement to the person, to invite the person to join the communications session when the person answers the voice communications device.

42. A method as claimed in claim 41 wherein the IVR comprises part of a functionality of a conference bridge.

43. A method as claimed in claim 41 wherein the IVR also plays a list of the persons attending the communications session and a topic of discussion.