Application based queuing via an H.323/SIP interface

• US 7,613,289 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2004
• Issued: 11/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Lumsden, John E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US10/856,733
• Publication Number:
  US 20050018700A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,985 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.22, 379/88.23, 379/265.02, 379/266.01, 379/88.17, 379/265.1, 379/309, 370/412, 370/356, 370/522, 370/341, 709/202, 709/228, 455/462, 718/104
• US Class Current: 379/265.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• 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

The present invention provides a telephony-accessed application system for providing a service, such as voicemail, in accordance with a switching interface such as in the ITU-T H.323 or IETF SIP recommendation. Queuing functionality is made possible in a system which employs a switch which does not support queuing. The queuing functionality is made possible by a queue means which is provided within an application means, i.e. the voicemail means itself. Consequently, the switch itself is relieved of the burden of having to keep track of the exact status of each of its ports at all times. The high-level queuing is performed at a logical level rather than at the physical level, and therefore affords a cleaner interface. Furthermore, the implementation of the queuing functions in the terminating application means allows for the use of a wider variety of intermediate switch means in a network.

Claims

1. A telephony-accessed application system for use in an IP-based telephony system and operable for providing an automated service to a plurality of end units connected to a network, the telephony-accessed application system comprising:

means for receiving a plurality of calls from a switch via a switch interface having a call-state model having at least three stages, including an offering stage, an alerting stage and a connect stage; and

a queue for queuing calls which are in excess of call processing resources of the telephony-accessed application system.

2. A telephony-accessed application system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the automated service is a messaging service.

3. A telephony-accessed application system in accordance with claim 2 wherein the messaging service is a voice messaging service.

4. A telephony-accessed application system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the switch interface is defined by the H.323 standard.

5. A telephony-accessed application system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the switch interface is defined by the Session Initiation Protocol standard.

6. A telephony-accessed application system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the network is a network employing an Internet Protocol.

7. A telephony-accessed application system in accordance with claim 1 wherein a call for which call processing resources become available is allowed to move in the queue ahead of a call for which call processing resources are not available.

8. A method for use in an IP-based telephony system and operable for providing an automated service to a plurality of end units connected to a network, the method comprising:

receiving, at an application operable for providing the automated service, a setup message associated with a call from a switch;

determining whether the application has appropriate resources to handle the call;

proceeding to a connect state if the application has the appropriate resources available;

placing the call in an alerting stage and placing the call in a queue if the application does not have the appropriate resources available; and

maintaining the call in the queue until the appropriate resources become available.

9. A method in accordance with claim 8 wherein the maintaining the call in the queue further comprises:

monitoring the age of a plurality of calls in the queue; and

proceeding to connect the oldest call among the plurality of calls in the queue for which resources become available.

10. A method in accordance with claim 8 wherein the automated service provides a messaging service.

11. A method in accordance with claim 10 wherein the messaging service is a voice messaging service.

12. A method in accordance with claim 8 wherein the setup message is defined by the H.323 standard.

13. A method in accordance with claim 8 wherein the setup message is defined by the Session Initiation Protocol standard.

14. A method in accordance with claim 8 wherein a call in the queue for which call processing resources become available is allowed to move ahead of a call in the queue for which call processing resources are not available.

15. A method for use in an IP-based telephony system and operable for providing one or more automated services to a plurality of end units connected to a network, the method comprising:

receiving from a switch, at an application operable for providing the automated services, a setup message associated with a call from one of the plurality of end units, the call defined by a call-state model having an offering stage, an alerting stage, and a connect stage;

determining whether the application has appropriate resources to handle the call;

proceeding to a connect state if the application has the appropriate resources available;

placing the call in an alerting stage and placing the call in a queue if the application does not have the appropriate resources available; and

maintaining the queued call in the queue until the appropriate resources become available; and

when the appropriate resources become available, placing the queued call into a connect state.

16. A method in accordance with claim 15 further comprising:

allowing a queued call for which call processing resources become available to move in the queue ahead of a queued call for which call processing resources are not available.

17. A method in accordance with claim 15 wherein the call is in accordance with the H.323 standard.

18. A method in accordance with claim 15 wherein the call is in accordance with the Session Initiation Protocol standard.