Method and apparatus for providing enhanced communication capability for mobile devices on a virtual private network (VPN)

• US 6,987,977 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2002
• Issued: 01/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Lockhart, Stanford Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): Trinh, Sonny
• Application Number:
  US10/323,450
• Publication Number:
  US 20030125048A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• Field of Search: 455/445, 455/456.1, 455/456.6, 455/428, 455/430, 455/414.2, 455/500, 455/521, 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 370/310, 370/310.2
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42357 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/265 for initial activation of new user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/10 Small scale networks; Flat hierarchical networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/16 WPBX [Wireless Private Branch Exchange]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 : Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A service communication system for mobile vehicles has a cellular telephony interface in individual ones of the mobile vehicles, for establishing telephony events over a cellular network with a base station, and a global positioning system in individual ones of the mobile vehicles for determining global position from transmissions from GPS satellites. A network of cellular base stations receives from and broadcasts to the mobile vehicles, and bridges events between cellular and public switched telephone service (PSTN) protocol. A unique network-level routing system is connected by first telephony trunks to the base stations and enabled to retrieve GPS position from the telephony events, and is connected by other trunks to a plurality of service centers connected to the network-level routing system, which determines a destination for individual ones of the telephony events among the plurality of service centers according to the retrieved GPS position.

Claims

1. A service communication system for mobile vehicles, comprising:

a cellular telephony interface in individual ones of the mobile vehicles, for establishing telephony events over a cellular network with a base station;

a global positioning system in individual ones of the mobile vehicles for determining global position from transmissions from GPS satellites;

a network of base stations for receiving and broadcasting to the mobile vehicles, and for bridging events between cellular and public switched telephone service (PSTN) protocol;

a network-level routing system connected by first telephony trunks to the base stations and enabled to retrieve GPS position from the telephony events; and

a plurality of service centers connected to the network-level routing system by second telephony trunks;

wherein the network-level routing system determines a destination for individual ones of the telephony events among the plurality of service centers according to the retrieved GPS position.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the network-level routing system further comprises an interactive voice solution (IVS) system for providing synthesized voice responses to incoming events.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein individual ones of the service centers each comprise a telephone switching apparatus connected by a computer telephony integration (CTI) link to a CTI processor for monitoring a controlling the connected telephone switching apparatus, and the network routing center comprises a network-level CTI processor connected to a network-level switch, and wherein the CTI processors at network and service center level are interconnected by a data link separate from the second telephony trunks.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein data about a call event is stripped at the network-level routing system and transmitted by the data link separate from the second telephony trunks to a service center to which the call event is routed.

5. In a service communication system for mobile vehicles having a cellular telephony interface in individual ones of the mobile vehicles, for establishing telephony events over a cellular network with a base station, a global positioning system in individual ones of the mobile vehicles for determining global position from transmissions from GPS satellites, and a network of base stations for receiving and broadcasting to the mobile vehicles, and for bridging events between cellular and public switched telephone service (PSTN) protocol, a method for enhancing services to the mobile vehicles, comprising Steps of:

(a) providing a plurality of service centers specialized to particular regions; and

(b) implementing a network-level routing system connected by first telephony trunks to the base stations and enabled to retrieve GPS position from the telephony events; and

(c) routing individual ones of the telephony events among the plurality of service centers according to the retrieved GPS position.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the network-level routing system further comprises an interactive voice solution (IVS) system for providing synthesized voice responses to incoming events.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein individual ones of the service centers each comprise a telephone switching apparatus connected by a computer telephony integration (CTI) link to a CTI processor for monitoring a controlling the connected telephone switching apparatus, and the network routing center comprises a network-level CTI processor connected to a network-level switch, and wherein the CTI processors at network and service center level are interconnected by a data link separate from the second telephony trunks.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein data about a call event is stripped at the network-level routing system and transmitted by the data link separate from the second telephony trunks to a service center to which the call event is routed.