This call

• US 8,576,996 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2010
• Issued: 11/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arlington Technologies, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Brunson, Gordon R.
• Primary Examiner(s): WOO, STELLA L
• Application Number:
  US12/966,835
• Publication Number:
  US 20120148037A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,058 Days
• Field of Search: 379/93.02, 379/93.21, 455/416, 455/417, 455/414.1, 455/519
• US Class Current: 379/93.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• 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

An in-progress call can be manipulated such that user devices in proximity to the in-progress call, but not initially part of the call, are enabled to join the in-progress call. Determining that a user device is in proximity to an in-progress call may include detection, by the user device, of an in-progress call. Alternatively, or in addition, a communication device involved in the in-progress call may detect a user device and query the user device as to whether it has permissions to join the in-progress call and, if so, whether it wants to join the in-progress call.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining a proximity determining that a user device is within proximity of an in-progress call between two or more communication devices, further comprising, determining the user device is able to connect to the in-progress call and determining a secondary proximity of the user device to at least one communication device;

receiving a request from the user device to join the in-progress call;

determining that the user device is allowed to join the in-progress call; and

providing the user device with a message which enables the user device to join the in-progress call; and

wherein determining an acceptable secondary proximity of the user device to the at least one communication device comprises detecting a substantially simultaneous bump between the user device and the at least one communication device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the message comprises a call setup information that includes a SIP dialog information.

3. A method, comprising:

determining that a user device is within proximity of an in-progress call between two or more communication devices;

receiving a request from the user device to join the in-progress call;

determining that the user device is allowed to join the in-progress call;

providing the user device with a message which enables the user device to join the in-progress call;

receiving audio input at a microphone of the user device;

providing the received audio input or a fingerprint generated therewith to an admission module;

comparing, by the admission module, the received audio input or the fingerprint with media exchanges or fingerprints captured by a call monitoring module; and

determining that the received audio input or fingerprint matches at least a portion of a selected media exchange or fingerprint captured by the call monitoring module.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the received audio input comprises audio input of only a first participant involved in the in-progress call.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

authenticating the user device prior to receiving the request from the user device; and

in response to authenticating the user device, providing the user device with call information which describes the in-progress call to the user device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the call information provided to the user device comprises one or more of call identification information, information which identifies the two or more communication devices currently involved in the in-progress call, information which identified users involved in the in-progress call, identification information for communication servers which are authoritative for either users or communication devices currently involved in the in-progress call, and communication protocols being used to conduct the in-progress call.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

altering the in-progress call to include the user device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein altering the in-progress call comprises altering a topology of the in-progress call.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the topology of the in-progress call is altered from a P2P topology to a conference-type topology.

10. A method, comprising:

determining a proximity determining that a user device is within proximity of an in-progress call between two or more communication devices, further comprising, determining the user device is able to connect to the in-progress call and determining a secondary proximity of the user device to at least one communication device;

receiving a request from the user device to join the in-progress call;

determining that the user device is allowed to join the in-progress call;

providing the user device with a message which enables the user device to join the in-progress call; and

wherein determining an acceptable secondary proximity of the user device to the at least one communication device comprises detecting a substantially simultaneous user action upon each of the user device and the at least one communication device.

11. A method, comprising:

determining a proximity determining that a user device is within proximity of an in-progress call between two or more communication devices, further comprising, determining the user device is able to connect to the in-progress call and determining a secondary proximity of the user device to at least one communication device;

receiving a request from the user device to join the in-progress call;

determining that the user device is allowed to join the in-progress call;

providing the user device with a message which enables the user device to join the in-progress call; and

wherein determining an acceptable secondary proximity of the user device to the at least one communication device comprises generating a tone on one of the user device and the at least one communication device and detecting the tone on the other of the user device and the at least one communication device.