Presence tracking and name space interconnection techniques

• US 7,536,437 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2003
• Issued: 05/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Zmolek, Andrew Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne; Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chea; Philip J
• Application Number:
  US10/367,260
• Publication Number:
  US 20030154293A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,286 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/219, 709/238, 709/245, 709/249, 709/202, 709/203, 709/204, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/30 Types of network names
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/106 across networks, e.g. mapping telephone numbers to data network addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4552 Lookup mechanisms between a plurality of directories; Synchronisation of directories, e.g. metadirectories
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0263 Rule management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2871 Implementation details of single intermediate entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/14 Backbone network devices

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a presence and availability system including:

• • (a) an input (e.g., an interface) operable to receive an agent report from a context sensing agent in a host entity associated with a person, the agent report comprising presence information and the person having an address in an associated name space;
  • (b) a tracking agent 154 operable to tag at least some of the presence information with at least one classification tag; and
  • (c) a policy agent 158 operable to determine presence information to be provided to a requestor based on the at least one classification tag.

Claims

1. A method for ascertaining availability of a person having an associated address within a name space, comprising:

(a) receiving a first agent report from a first context sensing agent, the first context sensing agent being in a first communication endpoint associated with a person and the first agent report comprising at least one first classification tag descriptive of a first event involving the first communication endpoint, wherein the at least one first classification tag is indicative of an availability of the person to be currently contactable at the first communication endpoint;

(b) based on the at least one first classification tag, determining a probability value of the person being at least one of available and unavailable at the first communication endpoint; and

(c) receiving a second agent report from a second context sensing agent in a second communication endpoint other than the first communication endpoint, the second agent report comprising at least one second classification tag descriptive of a second event involving the first communication endpoint and indicative of an availability of the person to be currently contactable at the first communication endpoint, the first and second events being different, wherein the first and second agent reports each comprises a unique identifier associated with at least one of the corresponding context sensing agent and corresponding communication endpoint, at least one address associated with the first communication endpoint, and at least one time stamp associated with a corresponding one of the first and second events.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the person is deemed to be available when the person is physically located near the first communication endpoint and to be unavailable when the person is not physically located near the first communication endpoint, wherein each of the first and second agent reports further comprises an authentication token, wherein the at least one address is at least one of an Internet Protocol or IP address of the communication endpoint and a Media Access Control address, wherein each of the at least one first and second classification tags is an agent classification tag, and wherein step (b) comprises the substeps:

(B1) analyzing each of the at least one first and second agent classification tags; and

(B2) associating a server classification tag with at least one of the person, the associated address, and the name space based on the analysis of the at least one first and second agent classification tags.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the person is deemed to be available when the person is physically located near the first communication endpoint and to be unavailable when the person is not physically located near the first communication endpoint, wherein each of the first and second classification tags is expressed in a markup language, wherein each of the first and second agent reports further comprises information regarding at least one of a spatial location, a geopolitical location, and functional location of the first communication endpoint, and wherein the first communication endpoint is at least one of an Internet Protocol or IP hardphone, IP softphone, Personal Digital Assistant or PDA, wired telephone, wireless telephone, pager, facsimile machine, telephony switch, server, and modem.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step comprises:

presenting at least one of (a) at least some of the contents of the first agent report and (b) at least some current availability intelligence to the person for configuration before the receiving step.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises the substep of mapping tracking rules associated with a user identity of the person against the first and second classification tags to provide availability intelligence, wherein the user identity is unique, and wherein the mapping substep comprises the further substep of comparing a second user identity associated with a requestor of availability intelligence of the person against a listing of user identities to determine what availability intelligence is to be provided to the requestor;

and

(d) generating at least one server classification tag based at least in part on the first and second agent reports and wherein the tracking rule mapping substep comprises comparing the at least one server classification tag against a set of classification tag set forth in one or more policy rules.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the person is deemed to be available when the person is physically located near the first communication endpoint and to be unavailable when the person is not physically located near the first communication endpoint, wherein each of the at least one first and second classification tags is a plurality of tags and the plurality of tags are indicative of a plurality of the following:

the purpose of the first communication endpoint, the type of first communication endpoint, the geopolitical location of the first communication endpoint, the functional location of the first communication endpoint, the spatial location of the first communication endpoint, the operating mode of the first communication endpoint, the event triggering the agent report, the capabilities of the first communication endpoint, media type of the first communication endpoint, minimum acceptable contact priority, and a user customized tag.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the person is deemed to be available when the person is physically located near the first communication endpoint and to be unavailable when the person is not physically located near the first communication endpoint and further comprising:

at least one of increasing and decreasing the probability rating based on the at least one second classification tag, wherein the second communication endpoint is in close spatial proximity to the first communication endpoint.

8. A method for determining an availability of a person, object, or other entity comprising:

(a) receiving a first agent report from a first context sensing agent in a first communication endpoint associated with a first user, the first agent report comprising first presence information;

(b) generating at least one server classification tag based at least in part on the first agent report, wherein the at least one server classification tag indicates a plurality of a purpose of the first communication endpoint, a type of the first communication endpoint, a location of the first communication endpoint, and an operating mode of the first communication endpoint;

(c) determining a first probability value that the first user is contactable through the first-communication endpoint, said determining step comprising the substep of;

(C1) applying tracking rules associated with a contact address, set forth in the first agent report, to the first presence information to provide first availability intelligence,

(d) thereafter receiving a second agent report from a second context sensing agent in a second communication endpoint associated with the first user, the second agent report comprising second presence information;

(e) changing the first probability value to a second value based on at least some of the second presence information;

(f) updating the first availability intelligence to provide second availability intelligence reflecting the second value;

(g) receiving a request from a requestor for availability intelligence associated with the first user; and

(h) mapping the at least one server classification tag against a set of classification tags set forth in one or more policy rules, to determine what availability intelligence is to be provided to the requestor.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first and second communication endpoints are each at least one of an Internet Protocol or IP hardphone, IP softphone, Personal Digital Assistant or PDA, wired telephone, wireless telephone, pager, facsimile machine, telephony switch, server, messaging system, and modem, wherein the first communication endpoint is in spatial proximity to the second communication endpoint and the first user is one or more of a person, a group of persons, a computational component, a collection of computational components, a service provider, a group of service providers, a product provider, and a group of product providers and further comprising:

parsing and first presence information in the first agent report; and

tagging at least some of the parsed first presence information with at least one classification tag.

10. A computer readable memory encoded with processor executable instructions for performing the steps of claim 8.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first context sensing agent is operable (i) to present at least one of (a) at least some proposed contents of the first agent report and (b) at least some current availability intelligence to the first user for configuration and (ii) to forward the first agent report to a presence server.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the availability intelligence comprises a plurality of the following:

contact address of the communication endpoint, a context sensing agent identifier, one or more classification tags, one or more time stamps associated with an agent report, one or more time stamps associated with the one or more classification tags, a probability of contacting the person at a contact address, default router and/or proxy address for an associated network, a geographical location, a geopolitical location, a functional location, a spatial location, type of a communication endpoint associated with the context sensing agent, and communication mode capabilities of the communication endpoint.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the first and second presence information comprise a plurality of tags and the plurality of tags are indicative of a plurality of the following:

the purpose of the first or second communication endpoint, as appropriate, the type of first or second communication endpoint, as appropriate, the spatial location of the first or second communication endpoint, as appropriate, the geopolitical location of the first or second communication endpoint, as appropriate, the functional location of the first or second communication endpoint, as appropriate, the operating mode of the first or second communication endpoint, as appropriate, the event triggering the respective agent report, the capabilities of the first or second communication endpoint, as appropriate, a media type of the first or second communication endpoint, as appropriate, minimum acceptable contact priority, and a user customized tag and wherein the availability intelligence comprises a plurality of an address of the first communication endpoint, a context sensing agent identifier, and the updated probability.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the policy rules control at least one of how a requestor of presence information is to be treated and availability probability is to be modified specifically for requestor.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the second presence information is associated with a second probability value different from the first probability value and the adjustment to the first probability value is determined from the first and second probability values.