Providing collaboration services to a wireless device

• US 7,734,691 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2003
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Creamer, Thomas E., McIntyre, Joseph H., Moore, Victor S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chea, Philip J
• Application Number:
  US10/739,671
• Publication Number:
  US 20050135347A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,364 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/204, 709/230, 370/352
• US Class Current: 709/204
• 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 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06

Abstract

A method for establishing collaborative communications can include the step of receiving a request for a collaborative session with a designated user from an originating client. An intermediate client can be enabled, where the intermediate client can be deployed within a server that is communicatively linked to the originating client through an Internet protocol network. A mobile device associated with the designated user can be determined. A communication session can be initialized across a wireless network between the intermediate client and the mobile device. At least one collaboration message can be conveyed between the originating client and the mobile device using the intermediate client as a communication intermediary.

Claims

1. A method for providing collaborative services to a mobile device accessible via a mobile network comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for a collaborative session with a mobile client from an originating non-mobile client communicatively linked to a collaboration server of a service provider via an Internet protocol network;

enabling an intermediate client deployed within the service provider environment;

determining a mobile device associated with said mobile client;

establishing a communication connection between the intermediate client and a network services gateway, wherein said network services gateway includes at least one standardized application program interface for managing network services, and wherein data are conveyed between said intermediate client and said network services gateway in a manner that conforms to messaging standards defined for the application program interface;

establishing a communication connection between the network services gateway and a mobile gateway of the mobile network;

initiating a component within said network services gateway that is generic to said intermediate client;

initiating a component within said network services gateway that is specific to the mobile gateway associated with said mobile device;

initializing a communication connection between the intermediate client and the mobile device, thereby creating a communication between the originating non-mobile client and the mobile device; and

conveying at least one collaboration message between said originating non-mobile client and said mobile device using said intermediate client as an intermediary.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the collaborative server is remotely located from a server that contains said intermediate client, wherein said collaborative server receives said request during said receiving step and responsively initiates said enabling step.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of conveying data further comprises the step of:

conveying said data using distributed program objects that conform to at least one of a Common Object Request Broker Architecture, a Distributed Object Model, and an architecture for Web service bindings.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said network services gateway is a Parlay gateway.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

conveying information between said intermediate client and said mobile gateway in a manner that conforms to a Wireless Access Protocol defined for said mobile gateway.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said mobile gateway directly communicates to said mobile device through a Mobile Telephone Switching Office.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

sending at least one voice-based message between said mobile device and said originating non-mobile client, said intermediate client using a voice server to process said voice-based message prior to sending said voice-based message to said originating non-mobile client.

8. A system for providing collaborative services to a mobile device accessible via a mobile network comprising:

means for receiving a request for a collaborative session with a mobile client from an originating non-mobile client communicatively linked to a collaboration server of a service provider via an Internet protocol network;

means for enabling an intermediate client deployed within the service provider environment;

means for determining a mobile device associated with said mobile client;

means for establishing a communication connection between the intermediate client and a network services gateway, wherein said network services gateway includes at least one standardized application program interface for managing network services, and wherein data are conveyed between said intermediate client and said network services gateway in a manner that conforms to messaging standards defined for the application program interface;

means for establishing a communication connection between the network services gateway and a mobile gateway of the mobile network;

means for initiating a component within said network services gateway that is generic to said intermediate client;

means for initiating a component within said network services gateway that is specific to the mobile gateway associated with said mobile device;

means for initializing a communication connection between the intermediate client and the mobile device, thereby creating a communication between the originating non-mobile client and the mobile device; and

means for conveying at least one collaboration message between said originating non-mobile client and said mobile device using said intermediate client as an intermediary.

9. A machine-readable storage having stored thereon, a computer program having a plurality of code sections, said code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform a method for providing collaborative services to a mobile device accessible via a mobile network comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for a collaborative session with a mobile client from an originating non-mobile client communicatively linked to a collaboration server of a service provider via an Internet protocol network;

enabling an intermediate client deployed within the service provider environment;

determining a mobile device associated with said mobile client;

establishing a communication connection between the intermediate client and a network services gateway, wherein said network services gateway includes at least one standardized application program interface for managing network services, and wherein data are conveyed between said intermediate client and said network services gateway in a manner that conforms to messaging standards defined for the application program interface;

establishing a communication connection between the network services gateway and a mobile gateway of the mobile network;

initiating a component within said network services gateway that is generic to said intermediate client;

initiating a component within said network services gateway that is specific to the mobile gateway associated with said mobile device;

initializing a communication connection between the intermediate client and the mobile device, thereby creating a communication between the originating non-mobile client and the mobile device; and

conveying at least one collaboration message between said originating non-mobile client and said mobile device using said intermediate client as an intermediary.

10. The machine-readable storage of claim 9, further comprising the step of:

providing a collaborative server that is remotely located from said server that contains said intermediate client, wherein said collaborative server receives said request during said receiving step and responsively initiates said enabling step.

11. The machine-readable storage of claim 9, wherein said step of conveying data further comprises the step of:

conveying said data using distributed program objects that conform to at least one of a Common Object Request Broker Architecture, a Distributed Object Model, and an architecture for Web service bindings.

12. The machine-readable storage of claim 9, wherein said network services gateway is a Parlay gateway.

13. The machine-readable storage of claim 9, the method further comprising the step of:

conveying information between said intermediate client and said mobile gateway in a manner that conforms to a Wireless Access Protocol defined for said mobile gateway.

14. The machine-readable storage of claim 13, wherein said mobile gateway directly communicates to said mobile device through a Mobile Telephone Switching Office.