Synchronizing voicemail among multiple client access points

• US 8,284,908 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2009
• Issued: 10/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.), Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.), Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Cerf, Genevieve, Baruch, Robert C, Honma, Gerald Y
• Primary Examiner(s): Goins, Davetta W
• Assistant Examiner(s): ISLAM, MOHAMMAD K
• Application Number:
  US12/633,101
• Publication Number:
  US 20110135070A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,036 Days
• Field of Search: 379 8817- 8825, 4554121-4141
• US Class Current: 379/88.18
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72433 for voice messaging, e.g. dictaphones for answering incoming calls H04M1/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4509 Unified messaging with single point of access to voicemail and other mail or messaging systems unified messaging in packet switching networks H04L51/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53325 Interconnection arrangements between voice mail systems

Abstract

A set of servers connect to a group of voicemail systems and to a group of client access points. The set of servers may receive a request to perform a transaction relating to a voicemail mailbox of a particular voicemail system; cause the transaction to be performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system; and receive a notification that the transaction was performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system. The set of servers may perform synchronization processes to synchronize the client access points with regard to the transaction that was performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, where each of the client access points contains a same view of the voicemail mailbox as a result of the synchronization processes.

Claims

1. A method performed by a plurality of servers connected to a plurality of voicemail systems and a plurality of client access points, the method comprising:

receiving, by a server of the plurality of servers, notification of a state change relating to a voicemail mailbox of a particular voicemail system of the plurality of voicemail systems; and

performing, by one or more servers of the plurality of servers, a plurality of synchronization processes, in parallel, to synchronize the plurality of client access points with regard to the state change, where performing one of the plurality of synchronization processes includes;

determining, by one of the one or more servers, that a memory stores an identifier associated with a first client access point of the plurality of client access points,

sending, by the one of the one or more servers, information, associated with the state change, to another one of the one or more servers when the memory stores the identifier associated with the first client access point, and

notifying, by the other one of the one or more servers, a second client access point, of the plurality of client access points, regarding the state change, where the first client access point is different from the second client access point.

2. The method of claim 1, where receiving the notification of the state change includes receiving notification that a new voicemail message has been stored in the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system;

and

where performing the plurality of synchronization processes includes notifying each of the plurality of client access points that the new voicemail message has been stored in the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system.

3. The method of claim 1, where performing the one of the plurality of synchronization processes further includes:

prefetching, from the particular voicemail system, information regarding voicemail stored in the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, and

providing at least a portion of the prefetched information to the second client access point.

4. The method of claim 1, where the state change occurred as a result of a transaction performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system;

where notifying the second client access point includes sending, to the second client access point, information regarding the transaction that was performed.

5. The method of claim 1, where notifying the second client access point includes sending, to the second client access point, an indication that a transaction was performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox without identifying what the transaction is;

where performing the one of the plurality of synchronization processes further includes;

prefetching, from the particular voicemail system, information regarding voicemail stored in the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, and

providing at least a portion of the prefetched information to the second client access point.

6. The method of claim 1, where notifying the second client access point includes sending a confirmation to the second client access point, where the confirmation indicates that a transaction, initiated by the second client access point, was successfully performed.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by a server of the plurality of servers, a request to perform a transaction with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, where the request is received from the first client access point; and

causing, by a server of the plurality of servers, the transaction to be performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, where the particular voicemail system generates the notification of the state change in response to performance of the transaction.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by a server of the plurality of servers, a request to perform a transaction with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, where the request is received from a third client access point of the plurality of client access points, where the third client access point is different from the first client access point and the second client access point; and

causing, by a server of the plurality of servers, the transaction to be performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, where the particular voicemail system generates the notification of the state change in response to performance of the transaction.

9. A system connected to a plurality of voicemail systems and a plurality of client access points, the system comprising:

a plurality of servers to;

receive notification of a state change relating to a voicemail mailbox of a particular voicemail system of the plurality of voicemail systems; and

perform a plurality of synchronization processes to synchronize the plurality of client access points with regard to the state change,

where, when performing one of the plurality of synchronization processes, a first set of servers, of the plurality servers, is to;

determine that a first memory stores an identifier associated with a first client access point of the plurality of client access points, where the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system is also associated with the identifier associated with the first client access point, and

notify the first client access point regarding the state change when the first memory stores the identifier associated with the first client access point; and

where, when performing another one of the plurality of synchronization processes, a second set of servers, of the plurality servers, is to;

determine whether a second memory stores the identifier associated with the first client access point, and

notify a second client access point, of the plurality of client access points, regarding the state change when the second memory stores the identifier associated with the first client access point.

10. The system of claim 9, where the state change relating to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system results from storing of a new voicemail in the voicemail mailbox, accessing a voicemail in the voicemail mailbox, deleting a voicemail from the voicemail mailbox, saving a voicemail in the voicemail mailbox, or changing a personal identification number associated with the voicemail mailbox.

11. The system of claim 9, where, when performing the one of the plurality of synchronization processes, the first set of servers is to:

prefetch, from the particular voicemail system, information regarding voicemail stored in the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, and

provide at least a portion of the prefetched information to the first client access point.

12. The system of claim 9, where, when performing the other one of the plurality of synchronization processes, the second set of servers is to:

prefetch, from the particular voicemail system, information regarding voicemail stored in the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, and

provide at least a portion of the prefetched information to the second client access point.

13. The system of claim 9, where the plurality of servers is further to:

receive a request to perform a transaction with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, where the request is received from the first client access point, and

cause the transaction to be performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, where the particular voicemail system generates the notification of the state change in response to performance of the transaction.

14. The system of claim 9, where the plurality of servers is further to:

receive a request to perform a transaction with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, where the request is received from a third client access point of the plurality of client access points, and

cause the transaction to be performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, where the particular voicemail system generates the notification of the state change in response to performance of the transaction.

15. The system of claim 9, where the state change occurred as a result of a transaction performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system;

where, when notifying the second client access point, the second set of servers is to send, to the second client access point, information regarding the transaction that was performed.

16. The system of claim 9, where the first set of servers and the second set of servers include at least one server that is common to both the first set of servers and the second set of servers.

17. The system of claim 9, where, when notifying the second client access point, the second set of servers is to send, to the second client access point, an indication that a transaction was performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox without identifying what the transaction is;

where, when performing the other one of the plurality of synchronization processes, the second set of servers is further to;

prefetch, from the particular voicemail system, information regarding voicemail stored in the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, and

provide at least a portion of the prefetched information to the second client access point.

18. The system of claim 9, where the state change, relating to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, resulted from a transaction initiated by the first client access point;

and

where, when notifying the first client access point, the first set of server devices is to send a confirmation to the first client access point, where the confirmation indicates that the transaction was successfully performed.

19. A system associated with a plurality of different voicemail systems, the system connecting to a plurality of voicemail systems and a plurality of client access points, the system comprising:

a plurality of servers comprising;

means for receiving a request to perform a transaction relating to a voicemail mailbox of a particular voicemail system of the plurality of voicemail systems;

means for causing the transaction to be performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system;

means for receiving a notification that the transaction was performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system; and

means for performing a plurality of synchronization processes to synchronize the plurality of client access points with regard to the transaction that was performed with regard to the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, where each of the plurality of client access points contains a same view of the voicemail mailbox as a result of the plurality of synchronization processes.

20. The system of claim 19, where the means for performing a plurality of synchronization processes includes:

means for performing a first synchronization process of the plurality of synchronization processes, where the means for performing the first synchronization process includes;

means for determining whether a first memory stores an identifier associated with a first client access point of the plurality of client access points, where the identifier is also associated with the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, and

means for notifying the first client access point regarding the transaction that was performed on the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system when the first memory stores the identifier associated with the first client access point; and

means for performing a second synchronization process of the plurality of synchronization processes, where the means for performing the second synchronization process includes;

means for determining whether a second memory stores the identifier associated with the first client access point, and

means for notifying a second client access point, of the plurality of client access points, regarding the transaction that was performed on the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system when the second memory stores the identifier associated with the first client access point.

21. The system of claim 19, where the means for performing the plurality of synchronization processes includes:

means for prefetching, from the particular voicemail system, information regarding voicemail stored in the voicemail mailbox of the particular voicemail system, and

means for providing at least a portion of the prefetched information to one or more of the plurality of client access points.

22. The system of claim 19, where the plurality of servers further includes:

means for receiving a notification of a new facsimile message, video message, or text message; and

means for notifying the plurality of client access points regarding the new facsimile message, video message, or text message.