Enhanced features in an advanced voice services (AVS) framework for wireless communications systems

• US 7,813,722 B2
• Filed: 02/17/2006
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kodiak Networks (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Kodiak Networks (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Boray, Giridhar K., Patel, Krishnakant M., Vempati, Brahmananda R., Lawler, Bruce D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles N
• Assistant Examiner(s): DOAN, KIET M
• Application Number:
  US11/356,775
• Publication Number:
  US 20060234687A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,698 Days
• Field of Search: 455/518, 455/414.1, 455/416, 455/413, 455/414.2, 370/310, 370/260, 370/328, 340/539.11, 379/67.1
• US Class Current: 455/414.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/45 for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/14 Backbone network devices

Abstract

A real-time exchange (RTX) interfaces to a wireless communications system to provide enhanced features for advanced voice services (AVS), which include location-based information, voice portal integration, push ring tones and voice message screening.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing enhanced features for advanced voice services in a wireless network, comprising:

a wireless communications network for making calls to and from mobile units, wherein the calls are initiated by call setup and in-band signaling within the wireless communications network and voice frames for the calls are switched between the mobile units by at least one mobile switching center across bearer paths in the wireless communications network; and

a real-time exchange that interfaces to at least one mobile switching center in the wireless communications network to provide advanced voice services therein, without requiring any changes to the mobile switching center or other equipment of the wireless network to provide the advanced group services;

wherein both the real-time exchange and the mobile units that use the advanced voice services communicate with each other using the call setup and in-band signaling within the wireless communications network, such that at least one mobile switching center routes an originating leg of the advanced voice services from an originating mobile unit to the real-time exchange, the real-time exchange initiates one or more terminating legs of the advanced voice services to one or more terminating mobile units through at least one mobile switching center, and the real-time exchange switches the voice frames for the advanced voice services for the mobile units across the bearer paths and through at least one mobile switching center in the wireless communications network; and

wherein the enhanced features comprise location-based services (LBS) provided by the real-time exchange for enhancing the calls to and from the mobile units, such that the real-time exchange utilizes position information of the mobile units to provide localized and contextual information, in addition to presence availability, to the mobile units for use by subscribers, and the localized and contextual information comprises locations of the mobile units participating in group communications provided by the advanced voice services.

2. An apparatus for providing enhanced features for advanced voice services in a wireless network, comprising:

a wireless communications network for making calls to and from mobile units, wherein the calls are initiated by call setup and in-band signaling within the wireless communications network and voice frames for the calls are switched between the mobile units by at least one mobile switching center across bearer paths in the wireless communications network; and

a real-time exchange that interfaces to at least one mobile switching center in the wireless communications network to provide advanced voice services therein, without requiring any changes to the mobile switching center or other equipment of the wireless network to provide the advanced group services;

wherein both the real-time exchange and the mobile units that use the advanced voice services communicate with each other using the call setup and in-band signaling within the wireless communications network, such that at least one mobile switching center routes an originating leg of the advanced voice services from an originating mobile unit to the real-time exchange, the real-time exchange initiates one or more terminating logs of the advanced voice services to one or more terminating mobile units through at least one mobile switching center, and the real-time exchange switches the voice frames for the advanced voice services for the mobile units across the bearer paths and through at least one mobile switching center in the wireless communications network; and

wherein the enhanced features comprise voice recognition services provided by the real-time exchange for enhancing the calls to and from the mobile units, such that the real-time exchange performs the voice recognition services to convert voice commands received from the mobile units to invoke functions of the real-time exchange to establish a conference call between a group of mobile units identified in the real-time exchange.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the voice recognition is performed using a client-less mobile unit.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the voice recognition is performed to invoke the advanced voice services.

5. An apparatus for providing enhanced features for advanced voice services in a wireless network, comprising:

a wireless communications network for making calls to and from mobile units, wherein the calls are initiated by call setup and in-band signaling within the wireless communications network and voice frames for the calls are switched between the mobile units by at least one mobile switching center across bearer paths in the wireless communications network; and

a real-time exchange that interfaces to at least one mobile switching center in the wireless communications network to provide advanced voice services therein, without requiring any changes to the mobile switching center or other equipment of the wireless network to provide the advanced group services;

wherein both the real-time exchange and the mobile units that use the advanced voice services communicate with each other using the call setup and in-band signaling within the wireless communications network, such that at least one mobile switching center routes an originating leg of the advanced voice services from an originating mobile unit to the real-time exchange, the real-time exchange initiates one or more terminating legs of the advanced voice services to one or more terminating mobile units through at least one mobile switching center, and the real-time exchange switches the voice frames for the advanced voice services for the mobile units across the bearer paths and through at least one mobile switching center in the wireless communications network; and

wherein the real-time exchange stores a personalized ring-tone for the mobile unit, so that, the personalized ring-tone is selected by the calling party of an originating mobile unit and pushed to a terminating mobile unit of a called party, by downloading the personalized ring-tone for the terminating mobile unit of the called party from the real-time exchange to the terminating mobile unit of the called party.

6. An apparatus for providing enhanced features for advanced voice services in a wireless network, comprising:

a wireless communications network for making calls to and from mobile units, wherein the calls are initiated by call setup and in-band signaling within the wireless communications network and voice frames for the calls are switched between the mobile units by at least one mobile switching center across bearer paths in the wireless communications network; and

a real-time exchange that interfaces to at least one mobile switching center in the wireless communications network to provide advanced voice services therein, without requiring any changes to the mobile switching center or other equipment of the wireless network to provide the advanced group services;

wherein both the real-time exchange and the mobile units that use the advanced voice services communicate with each other using the call setup and in-band signaling within the wireless communications network, such that at least one mobile switching center routes an originating leg of the advanced voice services from an originating mobile unit to the real-time exchange, the real-time exchange initiates one or more terminating legs of the advanced voice services to one or more terminating mobile units through at least one mobile switching center, and the real-time exchange switches the voice frames for the advanced voice services for the mobile units across the bearer paths and through at least one mobile switching center in the wireless communications network; and

wherein the real-time exchange interfaces to one or more voice mail servers, and upon request, routes voice messages from the voice mail servers to the mobile unit of the called party, so that the called party can screen the voice messages being deposited by a calling party on the mobile unit of the called party, while the voice message is being deposited and while the deposit of the voice message proceeds in a normal manner, and

wherein the called party elects to pick up the call associated with the voice message being deposited, while the deposit is still in process, by invoking a function on the mobile unit of the called party.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the calling party is unaware that the voice message is being screened on the mobile unit of the called party.