Apparatus and method for PBX-integrated unified messaging services on a switched backbone

• US 7,369,648 B1
• Filed: 07/06/2000
• Issued: 05/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: PurpleComm Incorporated
• Inventors: Chang, Jack H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Han
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hashem, Lisa
• Application Number:
  US09/611,178
• Time in Patent Office: 2,861 Days
• Field of Search: 379/201.01, 379/233, 379/88.13, 379/88.17, 379/100.08, 379/88.25, 379/88.08, 379/88.14, 379/88.18
• US Class Current: 379/88.25
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways

Abstract

PBX-integrated unified messaging capabilities are provided via a switched backbone (such as the Internet) without having to install or deploy on-premise unified messaging equipment. A Corporate Communication Platform (“CCP”) typically located within a corporate subscriber'"'"'s premises is integrated with the corporate subscriber'"'"'s private branch exchange (“PBX”) system and coupled to a switched backbone, such as the network commonly referred to as the Internet. The CCP comprises a local mailbox database that temporarily stores voice messages and/or facsimile transmissions for and transmits messages to individual subscribers associated with the corporate subscriber. A CCP forms part of a wide-area unified messaging system, and connects to this wide-area unified messaging system via the switched backbone. The wide-area unified messaging system also comprises one or more System Communication Platforms (“SCP”). Each SCP in the wide-area unified messaging system may be located anywhere in the world that is accessible via the switched backbone, and may include a PSTN interface and/or a permanent mailbox database. Each SCP may also comprise a HTML Web server and/or an e-mail server to provide unified messaging capabilities. Each CCP is assigned to a SCP, and is slaved to the assigned SCP, such that the local mailbox database in the CCP is synchronized with the mailbox database of the SCP assigned to the CCP. Voice and fax messages received at the customer premise via the PBX are captured and stored at the CCP, which promptly uploads copies of the messages to its assigned SCP via the Internet. Once messages are received at the SCP, the individual subscriber can retrieve these messages via a web browser program, e-mail client program and/or the PSTN interface of the SCP. Conversely, copies of voice and fax messages received by the SCP via its PSTN interface are also promptly downloaded to the appropriate CCP, and the individual subscriber may retrieve these messages from his or her extension off the PBX.

Claims

1. A system for providing PBX-integrated unified messaging services including voice messaging, fax messaging, and e-mail messaging on a wide-area network, comprising:

one or more corporate communication platforms, each of said one or more corporate communication platforms coupled to a switched backbone, integrated with a PBX via a PBX interface, and comprising a slave message mailbox cache; and

a plurality of system communication platforms coupled to said switched backbone, wherein one such system communication platform comprises a master communication platform configured to update a subscriber database in each of said plurality of system communication platforms to reflect changes to a global subscriber database when said master communication platform determines said global subscriber database has changed, and wherein one such system communication platform comprises a master message mailbox, each of said slave message mailbox cache and said master message mailbox configured to store a plurality of message types, said message types comprising email, voicemail, and fax, wherein said slave message mailbox cache is bi-directionally synchronized in real-time with said master message mailbox such that each change to said slave message mailbox cache is reported immediately to said one such system communication platform, each change to a message in said master message mailbox that is associated with a corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache is reported immediately to said corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache, and each change to a message in said master message mailbox that is not associated with said corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache is not reported to the corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache, each of said one or more corporate communication platforms assigned to one of said plurality of system communication platforms, each of said plurality of system communication platforms assigned to zero or more of said one or more corporate communication platforms.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said switched backbone is the Internet.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said PBX interface is managed and controlled through program control, said program control established by using modules that make API calls to a programming interface, wherein said corporate communication platform can deliver a message to and receive a message from extensions defined within said PBX.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said corporate communication platform can command said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein said corporate communication platform can command said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein said PBX interface is managed and controlled through program control, said program control established by using modules that make API calls to a programming interface, wherein said corporate communication platform can deliver a message to and receive a message from extensions defined within said PBX.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said corporate communication platform can command said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein said corporate communication platform can command said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

17. An apparatus for providing PBX-integrated unified messaging services including voice messaging, fax messaging, and e-mail messaging on a wide-area network, comprising:

one or more corporate communication platforms, each of said one or more corporate communication platforms coupled to a switched backbone, integrated with a PBX via a PBX interface, and comprising a slave message mailbox cache, wherein said slave message mailbox cache is bi-directionally synchronized in real-time with a master message mailbox accessible via said switched backbone such that each change to said slave message mailbox cache is reported immediately to a system communication platform comprising said master message mailbox, each change to a message in said master message mailbox that is associated with a corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache is reported immediately to said corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache, and each change to a message in said master message mailbox that is not associated with said corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache is not reported to the corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache, each of said one or more corporate communication platforms assigned to one of a plurality of system communication platforms, each of said plurality of system communication platforms assigned to zero or more of said one or more corporate communication platforms, wherein one such system communication platform comprises a master communication platform configured to update a subscriber database in each of said plurality of system communication platforms to reflect changes to said global subscriber database when said master communication platform determines a global subscriber database has changed, and each of said slave message mailbox cache and said master message mailbox configured to store a plurality of message types, said message types comprising email, voicemail, and fax.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said switched backbone is the Internet.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said PBX interface is managed and controlled through program control, said program control established by using modules that make API calls to a programming interface, wherein said corporate communication platform can deliver a message to and receive a message from extensions defined within said PBX.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said corporate communication platform can command said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

23. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said corporate communication platform can command said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

25. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

26. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said PBX interface is managed and controlled through program control, said program control established by using modules that make API calls to a programming interface, wherein said corporate communication platform can deliver a message to and receive a message from extensions defined within said PBX.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein said corporate communication platform can command said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

29. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

30. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said corporate communication platform can command said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

32. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

33. A method of providing PBX-integrated unified messaging services including voice messaging, fax messaging, and e-mail messaging to one or more individual subscribers associated with a corporate subscriber, comprising:

integrating a corporate communication platform with said corporate subscriber'"'"'s PBX system via a PBX interface;

coupling said corporate communication platform to a switched backbone and assigning a network identifier to said corporate communication platform;

assigning said corporate communication platform to be serviced by a system communication platform accessible via said switched backbone, wherein said corporate communication platform comprises a slave message mailbox cache bi-directionally synchronized in real-time with a master message mailbox on said system communication platform such that each change to said slave message mailbox cache is reported immediately to said system communication platform, each change to a message in said master message mailbox that is associated with said corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache is reported immediately to said corporate communication platform, and each change to a message in said master message mailbox that are not associated with said corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache is not reported to said corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache, said corporate communication platform assigned to one of a plurality of system communication platforms, said system communication platform assigned to zero or more corporate communication platforms, wherein one such system communication platform comprises a master communication platform configured to update a subscriber database in each of said plurality of system communication platforms to reflect changes to said global subscriber database when said master communication platform determines a global subscriber database has changed, each of said slave message mailbox cache and said master message mailbox configured to store a plurality of message types, said message types comprising email, voicemail, and fax;

initializing a network mailbox on said system communication platform for each individual subscribers; and

transmitting copies of all messages received at said system communication platform that correspond to each of said individual subscribers to said corporate communication platform.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein said switched backbone is the Internet.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein said PBX interface is managed and controlled through program control, said program control established by using modules that make API calls to a programming interface, wherein said corporate communication platform can deliver a message to and receive a message from extensions defined within said PBX.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein said corporate communication platform can command said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

38. The method of claim 35, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

39. The method of claim 34, wherein said corporate communication platform can command said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

41. The method of claim 34, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

42. The method of claim 33, wherein said PBX interface is managed and controlled through program control, said program control established by using modules that make API calls to a programming interface, wherein said corporate communication platform can deliver a message to and receive a message from extensions defined within said PBX.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein said corporate communication platform can command said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

45. The method of claim 42, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

46. The method of claim 33, wherein said corporate communication platform can command said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

48. The method of claim 33, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

49. An apparatus of providing PBX-integrated unified messaging services including voice messaging, fax messaging, and e-mail messaging to one or more individual subscribers associated with a corporate subscriber, comprising:

means for integrating a corporate communication platform with said corporate subscriber'"'"'s PBX system via a PBX interface;

means for coupling said corporate communication platform to a switched backbone and assigning a network identifier to said corporate communication platform;

means for assigning said corporate communication platform to be serviced by a system communication platform accessible via said switched backbone, wherein said corporate communication platform comprises a slave message mailbox cache bi-directionally synchronized in real-time with a master message mailbox on said system communication platform such that each change to said slave message mailbox cache is reported immediately to said system communication platform, each change to a message in said master message mailbox that is associated with said corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache is reported immediately to said corporate communication platform, and each change to a message in said master message mailbox that are not associated with said corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache is not reported to said corporate communication platform comprising said slave message mailbox cache, said corporate communication platform assigned to one of a plurality of system communication platforms, said system communication platform assigned to zero or more corporate communication platforms, wherein one such system communication platform comprises a master communication platform configured to update a subscriber database in each of said plurality of system communication platforms to reflect changes to said global subscriber database when said master communication platform determines said a global subscriber database has changed, each of said slave message mailbox cache and said master message mailbox configured to store a plurality of message types, said message types comprising email, voicemail, and fax;

means for initializing a network mailbox on said system communication platform for each said individual subscribers; and

means for transmitting copies of all messages received at said system communication platform that correspond to each of individual subscribers to said corporate communication platform.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein said switched backbone is the Internet.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein said PBX interface is managed and controlled through program control, said program control established by using modules that make API calls to a programming interface, wherein said corporate communication platform can deliver a message to and receive a message from extensions defined within said PBX.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein said corporate communication platform further comprises means for commanding said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

54. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

55. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein said corporate communication platform further comprises means for commanding said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

57. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

58. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein said PBX interface is managed and controlled through program control, said program control established by using modules that make API calls to a programming interface, wherein said corporate communication platform can deliver a message to and receive a message from extensions defined within said PBX.

59. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein said corporate communication platform further comprises means for commanding said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

60. The apparatus of claim 59, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

61. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital, PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.

62. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein said corporate communication platform further comprises means for commanding said PBX to activate a message waiting light on a PBX user'"'"'s voice terminal equipment when a message for said PBX user is transmitted from said master message mailbox to said slave mailbox cache.

63. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein said PBX is selected from a group consisting of analog PBXs, digital PBXs, Centrex PBXs and Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) PBXs.