Storing information about a telephony session

• US 6,778,653 B1
• Filed: 11/09/1999
• Issued: 08/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Dawkins, Paul Spencer, Lyell, James Michael, Kallas, Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar, Ahmad F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Quynh H.
• Application Number:
  US09/436,563
• Time in Patent Office: 1,743 Days
• Field of Search: 379/201.07, 379/201.08, 379/201-1-2, 370/351, 370/352, 370/400, 370/402, 370/493, 370/494, 370/495
• US Class Current: 379/201.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2218 Call detail recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42221 Conversation recording systems at the subscriber's set H04M1/656
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42314 in private branch exchanges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/51 Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention , e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5166 in combination with interactive voice response systems or voice portals, e.g. as front-ends
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0036 where the data service is an information service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/126 Interworking of session control protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1295 Details of dual tone multiple frequency signalling

Abstract

A communications system includes nodes and terminals capable of being involved in a telephony session. Telephony cookies may be created in telephony sessions between a calling terminal and a called terminal. The telephony cookies may be created by the called terminal and sent to the calling terminal for storage. Contents of the telephony cookie may include identifiers of the calling terminal and the called terminal. Other contents may include the date and time the cookie was created, expiration data and time of the cookie, and a data field that can store other types of information relating to telephony sessions.

Claims

1. A method for use in a telephony communications system, comprising:

establishing a packet-based telephony session between a calling point and a called point;

collecting information about the packet-based telephony session, the information including data describing interaction between the calling point and the called point during the telephony session, the information selected from the group consisting of voice data from the user, dual-tone multi-frequency signals, and an indicator of a desired one of plural menus to be used as a starting menu of an automated answering system; and

communicating a cookie for storage at least at one of the calling and called points, the cookie containing at least one of the voice data from the user, the dual-tone multi-frequency signals, and the indicator of a desired one of plural menus to be used as a starting menu of an automated answering system.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising accessing the record in a subsequent telephony session and using information stored in the record in the subsequent telephony session.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the information includes collecting further information identifying the calling point, the cookie further containing the information identifying the calling point.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the information includes collecting further information identifying when the record was created, the cookie further containing the information identifying when the record was created.

5. A storage device for storing data accessible by one or more software routines for providing telephony services in a communications system, the storage device comprising:

a cookie stored in the storage device and including information describing a packet-based telephony session between a calling point and a called point, the information including input data received from the calling point by the called point during the telephony session, the cookie including at least one of user voice data, dual-tone multi-frequency signals, and an indicator of a desired one of plural menus to be used as a starting menu of an automated answering system.

6. The storage device of claim 5, wherein the cookie is according to an Extensible Markup Language.

7. A data signal embodied in a carrier wave comprising data segments containing data for use in telephony sessions between a calling terminal and a called terminal in a communications system, the data comprising:

a cookie according to a predetermined format, the cookie including information identifying a packet-based telephony session, the information including at least one of input data from the calling terminal or input data from the called terminal, the cookie including at least one of user voice data, dual-tone multi-frequency signals, and an indicator of a desired one of plural menus to be used as a starting menu of an automated answering system.

8. A system for use in a communications system having a packet-based network, comprising:

an interface unit to communicate in a packet-based telephony session with a calling terminal over the packet-based network; and

a control unit adapted to create a telephony cookie to store information about the telephony session and to communicate the telephony cookie over the packet-based network, the telephony cookie containing at least one of user voice data, dual-tone multi-frequency signals, and an indicator of a desired one of plural menus to be used as a starting menu of an automated answering system.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the control unit is adapted to send the telephony cookie over the packet-based network to the calling terminal for storage.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the telephony cookie contains data received during a telephony session from the calling terminal.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the control unit is adapted to communicate voice traffic of the telephony session over the packet-based network.

12. An apparatus for use in a telephony communications system, comprising:

means for establishing a packet-based telephony session between a first terminal and a second terminal over a packet-based network;

means for communicating voice traffic over the packet-based network in the telephony session

means for retrieving a cookie of a prior telephony session between the first and second terminals over the packet-based network, the cookie containing at least one of user voice data, dual-tone multi-frequency signals, and an indicator of a desired one of plural menus to be used as a starting menu of an automated answering system; and

means for accessing information stored in the cookie for use in the current telephony session.

13. An article including one or more machine-readable storage media containing instructions for describing a packet-based telephony session between a calling terminal and a called terminal in a communications system, the instructions when executed causing a system to:

collect information about the packet-based telephony session, the information including input data received from the calling terminal during the telephony session;

the input data describing interaction between the calling and called terminals during the telephony session; and

store the collected information in a cookie,

wherein the cookie contains at least one of dual-tone multi-frequency signals, user voice data, and an indicator of a desired one of plural menus to be used as a starting menu of an automated answering system.

14. A method for use in a telephony communications system, comprising:

establishing a packet-based telephony session between a first terminal and a second terminal over a packet-based network;

communicating voice traffic over the packet-based network in the telephony session;

retrieving a record of a prior telephony session between the first and second terminals over the packet-based network; and

accessing information stored in the record for use in the current telephony session,

wherein retrieving the record comprises retrieving a cookie including user voice data.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first terminal is a calling terminal and the second terminal is a called terminal, wherein retrieving the record includes retrieving the record stored in the calling terminal.

16. A method for use in a telephony communications system, comprising:

establishing a packet-based telephony session between a first terminal and a second terminal over a packet-based network;

communicating voice traffic over the packet-based network in the telephony session;

retrieving a record of a prior telephony session between the first and second terminals over the packet-based network; and

accessing information stored in the record for use in the current telephony session,

wherein retrieving the record comprises retrieving a cookie containing dual-tone multi-frequency signals.

17. A method for use in a telephony communications system, comprising:

establishing a packet-based telephony session between a first terminal and a second terminal over a packet-based network;

communicating voice traffic over the packet-based network in the telephony session;

retrieving a record of a prior telephony session between the first and second terminals over the packet-based network; and

accessing information stored in the record for use in the current telephony session,

wherein retrieving the record comprises retrieving a cookie containing an indicator of a desired one of plural menus to be used as a starting menu of an automated answering system.