Communication systems and related methods for communicating with devices having a plurality of unique identifiers

• US 9,491,205 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sorenson Ip Holdings, LLC
• Original Assignee: Sorenson Communications Incorporated
• Inventors: Shields, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Moise, Emmanuel L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chang, Julian
• Application Number:
  US13/842,401
• Publication Number:
  US 20140280562A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,334 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5069 for group communication, multicast communication or broadcast communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services

Abstract

A communication system comprises a server configured to associate a plurality of communication devices with each other in a user group. Each communication device of the plurality of communication devices is associated with a group-wide individual unique identifier that is unique as to other members of the same group; a network-wide individual unique identifier that is unique as to other communication devices of the network; and a group unique identifier that is shared with the plurality of communication devices of the user group. A method comprises receiving a call request including a group-wide individual unique identifier, and sending an outgoing call to the individual communication device. The group-wide individual unique identifier is unique to an individual communication device within a user group of communication devices that is smaller than a number of communication devices configured for communication on a network.

Claims

1. A video communication system, comprising:

a server hardware device configured to;

associate a plurality of video communication devices with each other in a user group that is associated with a single hearing-impaired user, wherein each video communication device of the plurality of video communication devices is associated with each of the following unique identifiers;

a group-wide individual unique identifier that is unique as to other members of the same group;

a network-wide individual unique identifier that is unique as to other video communication devices of the network; and

a group unique identifier that is shared with the plurality of video communication devices of the user group; and

establish communication between a first communication device and a second communication device in response to the server hardware device receiving an initial call request from the first communication device including at least one of the unique identifiers corresponding to the second video communication device from the first communication device, wherein;

receiving the initial call request including the group unique identifier causes the server hardware device to attempt to establish communication with the plurality of video communication devices of the same group responsive to the initial call request;

receiving the initial call request including the network-wide individual unique identifier causes the server hardware device to attempt to establish communication with the associated individual video communication device responsive to the initial call request;

receiving the initial call request including the group-wide individual unique identifier causes the server hardware device to attempt to establish communication with the associated individual video communication device when the first communication device and the second communication device are members of the same user group; and

route the communication through a video relay service for providing translation services for hearing-impaired users responsive to determining that one of the parties to the communication is a hearing-capable user and another party to the communication is a hearing-impaired user;

wherein the group-wide individual unique identifier is translated to the network-wide individual unique identifier by either the first communication device retrieving group information maintained by the server hardware device and performing the translation using the group information prior to sending the initial call request or by the server hardware device receiving the group-wide individual unique identifier from the first communication device and performing the translation using the group information maintained by the server hardware device and shared with other communication devices of the same user group.

2. The video communication system of claim 1, wherein the server hardware is configured to establish communication between the first communication device and the second communication device in response to receiving the initial call request from the first communication device including a combination of the group unique identifier and the group-wide individual unique identifier of the second communication device when the first communication device and the second communication device are not members of the same user group such that the second communication device is the only communication device of the user group that rings.

3. The video communication system of claim 1, wherein the server hardware device is configured to send at least one of the group-wide individual unique identifier and the network-wide individual unique identifier of the first communication device to the second communication device to be displayed by the second communication device.

4. The video communication system of claim 1, wherein receiving the group unique identifier attempts to establish communication with all other video communication devices of the user group without receiving a busy signal responsive to receiving the initial call request when the first communication device places the initial call request using its own group unique identifier.

5. The video communication system of claim 1, wherein the server hardware device includes:

a call routing server configured to establish communication between the first communication device and at least the second communication device through the relay service; and

a profile server configured to manage one or more user accounts associated with each video communication device of the plurality of video communication devices.

6. The video communication system of claim 1, wherein the group-wide individual unique identifier includes a member description having an alphanumeric format and the network-wide individual unique identifier includes a member number having a numeric format.

7. A video communication system, comprising:

a plurality of video communication devices configured for use by hearing-impaired users;

a server hardware device configured to coordinate communication sessions between the plurality of video communication devices with communication devices configured for use by hearing-capable users through a video relay service providing translation services for at least some of the communication sessions, wherein the server hardware device is configured to enable;

each video communication device of the plurality of video communication devices to be associated with an individual unique identifier that is unique to an individual video communication device across the video communication system;

at least some of the video communication devices of the plurality of video communication devices to be associated with a group unique identifier that is shared by video communication devices that are part of a common user group of video communication devices for a single hearing-impaired user; and

at least some of the video communication devices of the plurality of video communication devices to be associated with a group-wide unique identifier that is unique to an individual video communication device across its user group; and

translation of the group-wide unique identifier to the network-wide individual unique identifier by either the video communication device using group information maintained by the server hardware device prior to sending an initial call request or by the server hardware device using the group information responsive to receiving the group-wide individual unique identifier from the first communication device, wherein the group information is shared by other communication devices of the same user group.

8. The video communication system of claim 7, wherein the individual unique identifier of each video communication device includes a member number, and the group-wide unique identifier includes a member description.

9. The video communication system of claim 8, wherein the server hardware device is configured to coordinate communication sessions between a plurality of video communication devices of the same user group using the member description to select a video communication device within the common user group to receive an incoming call.

10. The video communication system of claim 7, wherein the server hardware device is configured to coordinate communication sessions between a plurality of video communication devices of the same group using the group unique identifier to select all video communication devices within the common group to receive an incoming call with the exception of the video communication device initiating the incoming call.

11. A method for establishing communication with a plurality of video communication devices that are specifically configured for use by a hearing-impaired user, the method comprising:

receiving an initial call request from first communication device associated with a hearing-capable user using a unique identifier selected from the group consisting of a network-wide individual unique identifier, a group unique identifier, and a group-wide individual unique identifier, wherein;

the network-wide individual unique identifier is unique to video communication devices over a network;

the group unique identifier is shared by a common user group of video communication devices associated with a single hearing-impaired user; and

the group-wide individual unique identifier being unique to an individual video communication device within the common user group of video communication devices that is smaller than a number of video communication devices configured for communication on the network;

translating the group-wide individual unique identifier to a corresponding network-wide individual unique identifier either within a video communication device using group information maintained by a profile server of a video relay service to be sent to a call routing server of the video relay service or within the call routing server using the group information when the group-wide individual unique identifier is used by the video communication device to place the call, wherein the group information is shared by other devices of the same user group; and

routing the call associated with the initial call request to at least a second video communication device through call routing server of the video relay service providing translation services for a communication session.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving another call request from another video communication device that is a member of the common user group of video communication device including the second communication device; and

routing another call associated with the another call request to at least the second video communication device.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the group-wide individual unique identifier includes a member description.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the member description is selected by a user from the group consisting of a word and a phrase.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving the initial call request includes both the group-wide individual unique identifier and the group unique identifier when the initial call request originates from a communication device that is not part of the user group associated with the group unique identifier.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving another call request from another video communication device that is a member of the common user group of video communication devices includes receiving a network-wide individual unique identifier for another video communication device of the common group including the another video communication device.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving another call request from another video communication device that is a member of the common user group of video communication devices includes receiving the group unique identifier for the common group including the another video communication device.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving another call request from another video communication device that is a member of the common user group of video communication devices includes receiving the group-wide individual unique identifier for another video communication device of the common group including the another video communication device.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising sending the network-wide individual unique identifier of the another video communication device to the second communication device as a caller identification for display by the second communication device.

20. The method of claim 12, further comprising sending the group-wide individual unique identifier of the another video communication device to the second communication device as a caller identification for display by the second communication device.

21. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving another call request from another video communication device that is not a member of the common user group of video communication device including the second communication device;

routing another call associated with the another call request to at least the second video communication device;

sending the group unique identifier of the another video communication device to the second communication device as a caller identification for display by the second communication device if the another video communication device is part of another user group; and

sending the network-wide individual unique identifier of the another video communication device to the second communication device as a caller identification for display by the second communication device if the another video communication device is not part of another user group.

22. The method of claim 11, wherein translating the group-wide individual unique identifier to the corresponding network-wide individual unique identifier includes retrieving the network-wide individual unique identifier from a cache stored within the group information for the video communication device that is updated periodically by the profile server of the video relay service.