System for managing video voicemail

• US 8,203,589 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2007
• Issued: 06/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jackson, James, Karnalkar, Anup, Shah, Jyotindra
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TUAN DUC
• Application Number:
  US11/852,060
• Publication Number:
  US 20090066781A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,747 Days
• Field of Search: 370/260, 370/352, 348/14.01, 348/14.08, 379/88.13, 379/88.17
• US Class Current: 348/14.01
• 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: H04M 3/5315 where the non-audio components are still images or video still image mailbox systems H04N1/324, intermediate storage of video signals for videophones H04N7/147
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0057 Services where the data services network provides a telephone service in addition or as an alternative, e.g. for backup purposes, to the telephone service provided by the telephone services network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/14 Systems for two-way working H04N7/12, H04N7/173 take precedence

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a communication device having a controller adapted to establish communications with a voicemail system over a Public Switched Telephone Network port of the communication device, receive from the voicemail system by way of a broadband port of the communication device an invitation to switch to a video call over the broadband port, transmit a Session Initiation Protocol message to establish video communications with the voicemail system, and transmit to the voicemail system a video message to be recorded by the voicemail system as a video voicemail message. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A communication device, comprising a memory coupled to a controller, wherein the memory comprises computer instruction, which when executed by the controller, configure the controller to:

establish a voice capable communication session with a voicemail system over a Public Switched Telephone Network by way of a circuit-switched communication port of the communication device;

receive from the voicemail system an invitation to establish a video capable communication session with the voicemail system;

responsive to the received invitation, transmit a Session Initiation Protocol message to the voicemail system to establish the video capable communication session with the voicemail system by way of a packet-switch communication port of the communication device; and

transmit to the voicemail system a video message by way of the video capable communication session and for recording by the voicemail system as a video voicemail message.

2. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the computer instructions configure the controller to establish the voice capable communications with the voicemail system responsive to a redirection of a public switched telephone network call initiated by the communication device being redirected to the voicemail system.

3. The communication device of claim 2, wherein the voicemail system transmits the invitation responsive to the voicemail system determining that the communication device is video capable according to a calling party number retrieved from the public switched telephone network call.

4. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the computer instructions configure the controller:

receive a Session Initiation Protocol OPTIONS message from the voicemail system to determine whether the communication device is video capable; and

transmit to the voicemail system a Session Initiation Protocol OK message indicating that the communication device is video capable.

5. The communication device of claim 4, wherein the computer instructions configure the controller:

receive from the voicemail system a Session Initiation Protocol INVITE message to switch to video communications over the packet-switched communication port of the communication device; and

terminate communications with the voicemail system over the public switched telephone network port responsive to establishing video communications with the voicemail system over the packet-switched communication port.

6. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the computer instructions configure the controller present the invitation by way of a User Interface of the communication device.

7. The communication device of claim 6, wherein the user interface comprises at least one among a display, an illuminable tactile or touch-sensitive button, or an illuminable softkey button presented at the display.

8. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the communication device and the voicemail system operate in an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem communication system.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium operating in a communication device, comprising computer instructions, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to for:

establish a circuit-switched communication session with a voicemail system over a Public Switched Telephone Network; and

initiate a transition to a video capable packet-switched communication session communication session with the voicemail system while the circuit-switched communication session is active between the communication device and the voicemail system; and

transmit to the voicemail system a video message by way of the video capable packet-switched communication session and for recording by the voicemail system as a video voicemail message.

10. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 9, wherein the circuit-switched communication session comprises a Public Switched Telephone Network communication session, and wherein the communication device and the voicemail system operate in an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem communication system.

11. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 9, comprising computer instructions that cause the processor to terminate the circuit-switched communication session responsive to switching to the video capable packet-switched communication session.

12. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 9, comprising computer instructions that cause the processor to establish communications with the voicemail system responsive to the circuit-switched communication session initiated by the communication device being redirected to the voicemail system.

13. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 9, comprising computer instructions that cause the processor to receive from the voicemail system an invitation to transition to the video capable packet-switched communication session responsive to the voicemail system determining that the communication device is video capable according to a calling party number retrieved from the circuit-switched communication session.

14. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 9, comprising computer instructions that cause the processor to:

receive a Session Initiation Protocol OPTIONS message from the voicemail system to determine whether the communication device is video capable; and

transmit to the voicemail system a Session Initiation Protocol OK message indicating it is video capable.

15. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 14, comprising computer instructions that cause the processor to:

receive from the voicemail system a Session Initiation Protocol INVITE message to switch to video communications over packet-switched communication port of the communication device; and

terminate communications with the voicemail system over a circuit-switch communication port responsive to establishing the video capable packet-switched communication session with the voicemail system over the packet-switched communication port.

16. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 9, comprising computer instructions that cause the processor to present an invitation received from the voice mail system, wherein the invitation is presented by way of a User Interface of the communication device.

17. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 9, wherein communication device comprises a circuit-switch communication port, and a packet-switched communication port, and wherein the circuit-switched communication session takes place by way of the circuit-switch communication port, and the video capable packet-switched communication session takes place by way of the packet-switched communication port.

18. A voicemail system, comprising a memory coupled to a processor, wherein the memory comprises computer instructions, which when executed by the processor, configure the processor to transmit to a communication device an invitation to switch from an active circuit-switched communication session over a Public Switched Telephone Network to a video Internet Protocol communication session;

receive a video message from the communication device over the video Internet Protocol communication session; and

record said video message.

19. The voicemail system of claim 18, wherein the computer instructions configure the processor to determine whether the communication device is video capable from a calling party number retrieved during the circuit-switched communication session.

20. The voicemail system of claim 18, wherein the computer instructions configure the processor to:

transmit a Session Initiation Protocol OPTIONS message to the communication device to determine whether the communication device is video capable; and

receive from the communication device a Session Initiation Protocol OK message that indicates it is video capable.

21. The voicemail system of claim 20, wherein the computer instructions configure the processor to:

transmit to the communication device the invitation as a Session Initiation Protocol INVITE message to switch to the video Internet Protocol communication session over a packet-switched communication port of the communication device; and

terminate the active circuit-switched communication session responsive to establishing the video Internet Protocol communication session with the communication device over the packet-switched communication port.

22. The voicemail system of claim 18, wherein the computer instructions configure the processor:

establish communications with a second communication device over a second circuit-switched communication session; and

transmit a second invitation to the second communication device to switch from the second circuit-switched communication session to a second video Internet Protocol communication session.

23. The voicemail system of claim 18, wherein the computer instructions configure the processor to determine that the second communication device is video capable from a calling party number retrieved from the second circuit-switched communication session.

24. The voicemail system of claim 18, wherein the second communication device switches to the second video Internet Protocol communication session responsive to the second invitation, and wherein the computer instructions configure the processor to present the recorded video message to the second communication device.