Network group pickup

• US 7,492,887 B1
• Filed: 12/22/1998
• Issued: 02/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Unify GmbH & Co. KG (Atos SE)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Communications Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Stumer, Peggy M., Vander Meiden, David A., Kucmerowski, Dennis Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): ADDY, THJUAN KNOWLIN
• Application Number:
  US09/218,783
• Time in Patent Office: 3,710 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265.09, 379/220.01, 379/266.01, 379/265.01, 379/201.02, 379/265.02, 379/88.25, 379/350, 379/225, 379/266.04, 379/165, 379/221.01, 379/214.01, 379/212.01, 379/207.12, 379/273, 370/352, 370/360, 709/202, 455/411, 455/518, 455/519
• US Class Current: 379/265.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42323 PBX's with CTI arrangements
• 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 11/0471 Terminal access circuits

Abstract

A system and apparatus for enabling supplementary service functions, such as group pickup, to be implemented in a communication network having one or more local servers. The group pickup system is adapted to enable one group member to automatically receive or manually pick up another group member'"'"'s call from anywhere within the network, including outside the local server in a multiserver network. The group pickup system includes an automatic mode unit for enabling the system to pro-actively seek a group member to take a call and a manual mode unit for enabling the system to search for an alerting group member. The system further includes a local connect unit and a remote connect unit to establish local or remote connections to a group member, respectively. A remote search unit enables the system to request a remote search. A queue/dequeue unit is provided for selecting a group member from a group list. A call establishing unit is provided for establishing a connection between the call and the group member and an answer unit is provided to complete the connection. A notification unit may be provided to notify the system of the completed connection. A release links unit may also be provided to release any temporary links used in establishing the connection. An exception handler may also be provided to deal with any error conditions which may occur.

Claims

1. A group pickup system in a communication network having one or more servers, said group pickup system comprising:

one or more call group locations associated with different ones of said one or more servers, each of said one or more servers including call group lists of members for each call group, said each call group having listed members from said one or more call group locations;

an invite request unit to invoke the group pickup system;

a group pickup request unit responsive to said invite request unit to establish a connection to any of a plurality of group pickup destinations to enable a call to a called station to be picked up from any group pickup destination, said destination being manually and automatically selectable, said destinations being automatically serially selected responsive to one of an alerting listed group member location and manually selected responsive to a responding listed group member location; and

a retrieval request unit to connect a selected call pickup station with said call to said called station.

2. The system as recited in claim 1 further including an exception handler adapted to handle failures in the group pickup system.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said one or more servers is a plurality of servers, ones of said plurality being capable of controlling call service functions on others of said plurality of servers, and wherein a call pickup party may be located on any server within the network and picking up a call at a destination associated with another server in the network.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein each server micro-controls pickup functions for resident group members and responds to group pickup requests and status notification from other ones of said one or more servers.

5. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein said network failure may include excessive network congestion.

6. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein said network failure may include a vacant number.

7. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein said network failure may include no route to destination.

8. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said invite request unit comprises a manual select unit and an automatic select unit, and manually selecting comprises picking up said call at said destination and automatically serially selecting comprises sequentially contacting listed group members in a listed order for a corresponding group.

9. A method for picking up a call in a group pickup system in a communication network having one or more servers, each of said one or more servers including call group lists of members for each call group, said each call group having listed members from said one or more call group locations, said method comprising:

invoking the group pickup system;

establishing a connection to a group pickup destination to enable said call to be parked at said group pickup destination, said group pickup destination being one of said one or more group locations associated with one of said one or more servers;

serially selecting destinations automatically and manually from a list of said one or more group locations to identify a call pickup destination, said destinations being automatically serially selected destinations responsive to one of an alerting listed group member location and manually selected responsive to a responding listed group member location; and

connecting said call pickup destination with said parked call, said call pickup destination picking up responsive to control of an associated one of said one or more servers;

wherein said group pickup system comprises a supplementary service group pickup system.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, further including the step of handling failures in the group pickup system.

11. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein one or more servers is a plurality of servers, at least one said call group having listed members from call group locations associated with each of at least two of said plurality of servers, ones of said plurality of servers being capable of controlling call service functions on others of said plurality of servers, said method further including the step of picking up said parked call from any said at least one call group pickup destination within the network, wherein said call pickup destination may be manually selected from one of said one or more group locations before a location is automatically selected.

12. A group pickup system in a communication network having one or more servers, said group pickup system comprising:

means for maintaining call group lists of members for a plurality of call groups;

means for invoking the group pickup system;

means responsive to said invoking means for establishing a connection to a group pickup destination to enable parking calls at said group pickup destination, said group pickup destination being a first of said one or more group locations associated with one of said one or more servers;

means for serially selecting destinations automatically and manually from a list of said one or more group locations located anywhere within the network to identify a pickup destination, said destinations being automatically serially selected responsive to one of an alerting listed group member location and manually selected responsive to a responding listed group member location; and

means for connecting said pickup destination with a parked call;

wherein said group pickup system comprises a supplementary service group pickup system.

13. The system as recited in claim 12 further including means for handling failures in the group pickup system.

14. The system as recited in claim 12, wherein one or more servers is a plurality of servers, ones of said plurality being capable of controlling call service functions on others of said plurality of servers, said system further including means for picking up calls from anywhere within the network, wherein said pickup destination may be manually selected from one of said one or more group locations before a location is automatically selected.

15. A system for enabling group pickup in a communications network including a plurality of servers, ones of said plurality being capable of controlling call service functions enabling incoming calls to stations associated with any server to be picked up by local stations associated with others of said ones, each of said ones comprising:

group list storage storing lists of members for a plurality of call groups;

a request unit to enable operation of the group pickup system when there is an unanswered call at a listed member station, said request unit automatically serially selecting destinations responsive to one of an alerting listed group member location and manually selecting responsive to a responding listed group member location;

a connect unit responsive to said request unit to make local and/or remote connections to various local and/or remote listed group member stations associated with said ones which may act as call pickup stations or unanswered stations; and

a call establishing unit for establishing a connection between the calling station and a selected call pickup station, wherein the calling station and selected call pickup station may be associated with different servers and define listed member stations.

16. A system according to claim 15, in which the request unit comprises:

an automatic mode unit that automatically serially searches for a listed group member local station that may be available to pick up an unanswered call, and selectively designates an identified listed group member local station as said selected call pickup station; and

a manual mode unit that is initiated by a listed group member who is aware of an unanswered call at another station and searches for an alerting listed group member station, wherein said manual mode unit designates an identified said alerting listed group member station as said selected call pickup station.

17. A system according to claim 16, wherein each of said ones further comprises a remote search unit to search for a listed remote group member that is manually alerting or determined available.

18. A system according to claim 17, wherein the remote search unit sends a temporary signaling connection with a facility request to search all the listed group member stations at a remote location.

19. A system according to claim 15, wherein each of said ones further comprises a queue/dequeue unit for selecting a group member from a database including listed groups.

20. A system according to claim 16, wherein each of said ones further comprises means for assessing whether an available/alerting listed group member station fulfills set criteria before final selection thereof.

21. A system according to claim 15, wherein each of said ones further comprises a release links unit to release any temporary links used in establishing the connection and/or convert them to a bearer service cell.

22. A method of enabling group pickup in a communications network including a plurality of servers, ones of said plurality being capable of controlling call service functions enabling incoming calls to stations associated with any server to be picked up by local stations associated with others of said ones, said method comprising:

maintaining call group lists of members for a plurality of call groups;

enabling the group pickup operation when there is an unanswered call at a listed member station anywhere on the network;

making local and/or remote connections to various local and/or remote listed group member stations which may act as call pickup stations or unanswered stations;

serially selecting a call pickup local station automatically responsive to one of an alerting listed group member location and manually selecting responsive to a responding listed group member location; and

establishing a connection between the calling station and a selected call pickup local station, wherein call pickup local stations and unanswered stations are associated with listed members of the same call group and different servers.

23. A method according to claim 22, further including the step of automatically serially searching for a listed group member local station that may be available to pick up an unanswered call.

24. A method according to claim 22, further including the step of searching for an alerting group member local station manually triggered by a listed group member at another station, wherein manually triggering comprises one of dialing an access code from said alerting group member local station and picking up said alerting group member local station.

25. The method as recited in claim 22, further including the step of handling failures in the group pickup system.

26. The method as recited in claim 22, further including the step of picking up a call from anywhere within the network.

27. A telecommunications system comprising:

a plurality of servers, ones of said plurality being capable of controlling call service functions enabling pickup of incoming calls to stations associated any server by local stations associated with others of said ones;

a plurality of telephone devices, each associated with one of said plurality of servers; and

a group pickup system including at least one call group list listing members in a group pickup group comprising a predetermined number of said plurality of telephony devices associated with different ones of said plurality of servers and which allows call pickup of any call to a listed group member by any listed group member station connected to any of said plurality of servers, wherein the pickup station may be automatically serially or manually selected, said pickup station being automatically serially selected responsive to one of an alerting listed group member station and manually selected responsive to a responding listed group member station.