System and method for processing calls to VoIP devices using the called party's email address

• US 8,189,570 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2006
• Issued: 05/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Bessis, Thierry
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Jae Y
• Application Number:
  US11/617,100
• Publication Number:
  US 20080159261A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,979 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/353
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for system for processing calls to a SIP or VoIP device using the called party'"'"'s Email address in which a call redirect server component is provisioned with the called party'"'"'s Email address and VoIP or SIP device address, and a DNS system is updated with the called party'"'"'s Email address and an address of the call redirect server. VoIP calls or other SIP sessions directed to the called party'"'"'s Email address are resolved by the DNS system to the address of the redirect server, which in turn redirects the calls to the called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device. The subscriber called party may provision the call redirect server with updated Email address or VoIP or SIP device address information to allow the subscribed to change VoIP phone service providers while callers only need to remember the subscriber'"'"'s Email address.

Claims

1. A system for processing calls to a Voice over IP (VoIP) or Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) device, comprising:

a call redirect component provisioned with a called party'"'"'s Email address and a called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device address; and

call redirect service logic operatively associated with the call redirect component to update a Domain Name System (DNS) system with the called party'"'"'s Email address having a VoIP prefix and an address associated with the call redirect service logic, the call redirect service logic operative to redirect a call associated with the called party'"'"'s Email address to the called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device address;

wherein the call redirect component and the call redirect service logic are operatively associated with a web portal of the called party'"'"'s Email service provider;

wherein the call redirect component examines a call processing message from a calling party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device, and determines whether the called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device address is subscribed to a VoIP call redirect service from a data field at the web portal of the called party'"'"'s Email service provider; and

wherein the redirect service logic redirects the call to the called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device address by indicating the called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device address to the calling party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device to connect the call by providing the call processing message to a VoIP service provider of a called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the call redirect service logic is integrated into the call redirect component.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the call redirect component is a server.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the call redirect component allows the called party to update at least one of the called party'"'"'s Email address and the called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device address.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) gateway component operatively coupled with the call redirect component and coupled to a PSTN network to receive an audio called party username only or a full Email address information from a call from the PSTN network, to correlate the audio called party username or the full Email address with the called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device address, and to forward the call received from the PSTN network to the called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP address.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the call redirect component and the call redirect service logic are hosted by the web portal of the called party'"'"'s Email service provider to provide the VoIP call redirect service for processing the call to the called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device address.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device has reconfigurable call redirect service settings to change the VoIP service provider without having to provide a different SIP or VoIP device address to the web portal when the called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device is subscribed to a the VoIP call redirect service of the Email provider in order to have the call redirected from the called party'"'"'s email address to the called party'"'"'s VoIP or SIP device.