Providing session-based services to event-based networks in multi-leg calls

• US 8,848,602 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2010
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle Israel Limited (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle Israel Limited (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Itzkovitz, Ayal, Zoller, Tal, Livyatan, Tzach, Kadosh, Nadav
• Primary Examiner(s): Jagannathan, Melanie
• Application Number:
  US12/788,331
• Publication Number:
  US 20100303066A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,587 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/12 intelligent networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/203 composed of PSTN and data network, e.g. the Internet
• 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: H04M 7/127 where the session control protocols comprise SIP and SS7
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0045 involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems

Abstract

A method for communication includes, during a multi-leg call conducted in a circuit-switched network, which operates in accordance with a first communication protocol that manages calls among subscribers by exchanging discrete events among elements of the circuit-switched network, receiving from the circuit-switched network a sequence of the events related to the multi-leg call. Based on the sequence of the events, multiple emulated communication sessions are generated in a packet-switched network that operates in accordance with a second communication protocol. Using the multiple emulated sessions, a service platform in the packet-switched network is caused to provide a communication service to the multi-leg call conducted in the circuit-switched network.

Claims

1. A method for providing session-based services to an event-based call over communication networks, the method comprising:

generating, in a circuit-switched network, a state machine that represents a multi-leg call, each leg of which denotes a point-to-point connection between two entities in the multi-leg call, wherein the state machine has call states and a set of transitions between the call states, and the circuit-switched network operates in accordance with a first communication protocol that manages calls by exchanging discrete events among elements of the network;

updating the state machine in response to a sequence of events related to the multi-leg call;

generating, in a packet-switched network, multiple state machines, which are synchronized to the state machine in the circuit-switch network, wherein the packet-switched network operates in accordance with a second communication protocol;

generating multiple emulated sessions, each of which represents a leg of the multi-leg call, and is represented by one of the state machines in the packet-switch network; and

calling a service platform in the packet-switched network to provide a communication service to an emulated session, in response to a state transition in one of the multiple state machines in the packet-switched network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first communication protocol comprises an Intelligent Network (IN) protocol, and wherein the second communication protocol comprises a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein causing the service platform to provide the communication service comprises receiving one or more messages from the service platform, and sending one or more events to the circuit-switched network responsively to the messages received from the service platform.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the received sequence of the events comprises an incomplete subset of the events related to the multi-leg call.

5. The method according to claim 1, and comprising providing multiple call services to the multi-leg call conducted in the circuit-switched network from the packet-switched network by cascading multiple service sessions, each providing a respective one of the call services, in the packet switched network responsively to the emulated communication sessions.

6. A mediation system, comprising:

a first interface for communicating with a circuit-switched network, which operates in accordance with a first communication protocol that manages calls by exchanging discrete events among elements of the circuit-switched network;

a second interface for communicating with a packet-switched network that operates in accordance with a second communication protocol; and

a processor, which is configured to

generate in the circuit-switched network a state machine that represents a multi-leg call, each leg of which denotes a point-to-point connection between two entities in the multi-leg call,

update the state machine in response to a sequence of events related to the multi-leg call,

generate multiple state machines in the packet-switched network, which are synchronized to the state machine in the circuit-switched network,

generate multiple emulated sessions in the packet-switched network, each of which represents a leg of multi-leg call, and is represented by one of the state machines in the packet-switch network, and

call a service platform in the packet-switched network to provide a communication service to an emulated session, in response to a state transition in one of the state machines in the packet-switched network.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the first communication protocol comprises an Intelligent Network (IN) protocol, and wherein the second communication protocol comprises a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

8. The system according to claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to represent communication on each leg of the multi-leg call using one or more respective ones of the emulated communication sessions.

9. The system according to claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to receive one or more messages from the service platform, and to send one or more events to the circuit-switched network responsively to the messages received from the service platform.

10. The system according to claim 6, wherein the received sequence of the events comprises an incomplete subset of the events related to the multi-leg call.

11. The system according to claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to provide multiple call services to the multi-leg call conducted in the circuit-switched network from the packet-switched network by cascading multiple service sessions, each providing a respective one of the call services, in the packet switched network responsively to the emulated communication sessions.