Enhanced services provided using communication redirection and processing

• US 8,331,546 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2011
• Issued: 12/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Claudatos, Christopher, Andruss, William D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Joseph J
• Application Number:
  US13/246,535
• Publication Number:
  US 20120014518A1
• Time in Patent Office: 441 Days
• Field of Search: 37920301-20701
• US Class Current: 379/202.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/46 Arrangements for calling a number of substations in a predetermined sequence until an answer is obtained
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/54 Arrangements for diverting calls for one subscriber to another predetermined subscriber based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; to voice mail H04M3/53308
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15

Abstract

Processing a communication is disclosed. A first request to establish communication is received at a redirection node from a requesting communication participant. A destination communication participant associated with the request is determined. A communication session in which the requesting communication participant, the redirection node, and the destination communication participant are participants at the same time is established, including sending from the redirection node to an equipment associated with the destination communication participant a second request to establish communication between the redirection node and the equipment associated with the destination communication participant. A communication session processing feature not provided with respect to the communication session by a telecommunication service provider associated with a service provider network used to establish and provide the communication session is made available to at least one of the requesting communication participant and the destination communication participant.

Claims

1. A method of processing a communication, comprising:

receiving at a redirection node from a requesting communication participant a first request to establish communication;

determining a destination communication participant associated with the request;

establishing a communication session in which the requesting communication participant, the redirection node, and the destination communication participant are participants at the same time, including by sending from the redirection node to an equipment associated with the destination communication participant a second request to establish communication between the redirection node and the equipment associated with the destination communication participant;

making available to at least one of the requesting communication participant and the destination communication participant, after the communication session is established in which the requesting communication participant, the redirection node, and the destination communication participant are participants at the same time, a communication session processing feature not provided with respect to the communication session by a telecommunication service provider associated with a service provider network used to establish and provide the communication session, and wherein the redirection node is not operated by the telecommunication service provider; and

modifying Caller ID data to allow at least one of the communication participants to be unaware that the redirection node is a participant in the communication session.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the communication session processing feature includes one or more features selected from the group consisting of:

call forwarding, call waiting, extension dialing, conference calling, call transfer, call number remapping, voice command processing, call archiving, call monitoring, compliance processing, call recording, call indexing, analyzing a call, controlling a call, blocking a call, and modifying a call.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the participation of the redirection node is transparent to at least one of the requesting communication participant and the destination communication participant.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the redirection node is associated with a PBX system.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the communication participants include any user, system, or device involved in the communication.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the destination communication participant is a call station associated with the redirection node and the redirection node is configured to redirect to the call station calls associated with the call station.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first request comprises a call placed to a number associated by the requesting call participant with the destination call participant.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the number is associated by the telecommunication service provider with the redirection node.

9. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the number comprises one or more of the following:

a telephone number;

an extension number;

an IP address; and

any numeric, alphabetic, or alphanumeric identifier.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the requesting communication participant is a call station associated with the redirection node and at least selected calls from the call station are redirected to the redirection node.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the request to establish communication includes initiating a telephonic call.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the service provider network comprises one or more of the following:

a direct or indirect physical connection, a mobile communication network, a public switched telephone network, a phone network, Voice-over-IP network, Internet, intranet, LAN, WAN, and any other forms of connecting two or more systems together.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein determining a destination communication participant associated with the request includes one or more of the following:

determining a communications line from which the call was received, prompting the requesting call participant for a destination call number, and receiving from the requesting communication participant a destination call number.

14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein establishing a communication session includes calling the destination call participant at a call number associated with the destination call participant.

15. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein establishing a call to the destination communication participant includes forwarding the call to one or more away call numbers.

16. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising detecting a command, mapping the command to a processing action associated with the communication session processing feature, and performing the processing action.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the command includes one or more of the following:

a voice command, a user command, a keypad entry, a command entered using a user interface, a DTMF command, an on/off hook command, a hook flash command, or any action or data associated with a processing action.

18. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein performing the processing action includes invoking, modifying, configuring, and/or stopping the communication session processing feature.

19. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the communication session processing feature comprises providing virtual private exchange processing with respect to two or more associated communication participants, including one or more of the following:

common phone number mapping for multiple call stations, extension dialing, dynamic, call number mapping, extension number mapping, call forwarding, call waiting, conference calling, and call hunt group calling.

20. A system for telecommunications processing, comprising:

a communications interface configured to receive from a requesting communication participant a first request to establish communication; and

a processor configured to determine a destination communication participant associated with the request, establish a communication session in which the requesting communication participant, the system, and the destination communication participant are participants at the same time, including by sending from the redirection node to an equipment associated with the destination communication participant a second request to establish communication between the redirection node and the equipment associated with the destination communication participant, make available to at least one of the requesting communication participant and the destination communication participant, after the communication session is established in which the requesting communication participant, the redirection node, and the destination communication participant are participants at the same time, a communication session processing feature not provided with respect to the communication session by a telecommunication service provider associated with a service provider network used to establish and provide the communication session, and modify Caller ID data to allow at least one of the communication participants to be unaware that the redirection node is a participant in the communication session, and wherein the redirection node is not operated by the telecommunication service provider.

21. The system as recited in claim 20, wherein the communication session processing feature includes one or more features selected from the group consisting of:

call forwarding, call waiting, extension dialing, conference calling, call transfer, call number remapping, voice command processing, call archiving, call monitoring, compliance processing, call recording, call indexing, analyzing a call, controlling a call, blocking a call, and modifying a call.

22. The system as recited in claim 20, wherein the participation of the redirection node is transparent to at least one of the requesting communication participant and the destination communication participant.

23. The system as recited in claim 20, wherein the system is associated with a PBX system.

24. The system as recited in claim 20, wherein the processor configured to determine a destination communication participant associated with the request includes configurations to perform one or more of the following:

determine a communications line from which the call was received, prompt the requesting call participant for a destination call number, and receive from the requesting communication participant a destination call number.

25. The system as recited in claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to detect a command, map the command to a processing action associated with the communication session processing feature, and perform the processing action.

26. The system as recited in claim 20, wherein the communication session processing feature comprises providing virtual private exchange processing with respect to two or more associated communication participants, including one or more of the following:

common phone number mapping for multiple call stations, extension dialing, dynamic, call number mapping, extension number mapping, call forwarding, call waiting, and conference calling.

27. A computer program product for processing a communication, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving at a redirection node from a requesting communication participant a first request to establish communication;

determining a destination communication participant associated with the request;

establishing a communication session in which the requesting communication participant, the redirection node, and the destination communication participant are participants at the same time, including by sending from the redirection node to an equipment associated with the destination communication participant a second request to establish communication between the redirection node and the equipment associated with the destination communication participant;

making available to at least one of the requesting communication participant and the destination communication participant, after the communication session is established in which the requesting communication participant, the redirection node, and the destination communication participant are participants at the same time, a communication session processing feature not provided with respect to the communication session by a telecommunication service provider associated with a service provider network used to establish and provide the communication session, and wherein the redirection node is not operated by the telecommunication service provider; and

modifying Caller ID data to allow at least one of the communication participants to be unaware that the redirection node is a participant in the communication session.

28. The computer program product as recited in claim 27, wherein the communication session processing feature includes one or more features selected from the group consisting of:

call forwarding, call waiting, extension dialing, conference calling, call transfer, call number remapping, voice command processing, call archiving, call monitoring, compliance processing, call recording, call indexing, analyzing a call, controlling a call, blocking a call, and modifying a call.

29. The computer program product as recited in claim 27, wherein determining a destination communication participant associated with the request includes one or more of the following:

determining a communications line from which the call was received, prompting the requesting call participant for a destination call number, and receiving from the requesting communication participant a destination call number.

30. The computer program product as recited in claim 27, wherein the communication session processing feature comprises providing virtual private exchange processing with respect to two or more associated communication participants, including one or more of the following:

common phone number mapping for multiple call stations, extension dialing, dynamic, call number mapping, extension number mapping, call forwarding, call waiting, and conference calling.