METHOD AND PROCESS FOR SIGNALING, COMMUNICATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF NETWORKED OBJECTS
Systems and processes for communication of messages between one or more networked objects on circuit and packet data networks are described. Specifically, means for representation of various communication types, including content description and disposition rules, delivery and routing descriptions and rules, conversion and translation descriptions and rules, and methods for interactions and for administration over one or more network types, through one or more communication protocol types, to one or more destination types are described. The delivery of messages and other communication over various communication protocols in addition to email is described. Methods for administering and managing rules for directing and transforming said messages and communications for purposes of routing or delivery to one or more specific destinations are also presented.
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This application is a divisional of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/778,586, filed Jul. 16, 2007, entitled “Method and Process for Signaling, Communication and Administration of Networked Objects”, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/374,629, filed Feb. 26, 2003 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,245,611 on Jul. 17, 2007), and which claims the benefit of the earlier filing date of provisional application Ser. No. 60/360,282, filed on Feb. 27, 2002.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The various embodiments of the invention relate to the field of unified messaging through circuit and packet data networks.
2. Description of Related Art
Unified messaging has emerged to address the need for combining the delivery of different types of messages using a single interface. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,208,638, Rieley et. al., describes a method and apparatus for transmission and retrieval of information such as facsimile and audio messages over circuit and packet switched networks, specifically via the use of electronic mail. An incoming message (voice or fax) sent over a circuit switched network is transmitted over a packet switched network, by receiving an incoming call signal along with an inbound address, determining a user account and a final address on the packet network that are associated with the inbound address, and sending a processed form of the incoming message to an email box of the user. Another reference is U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,165, Narasimhan, et. al. which describes the use of filtering methods for processing electronic messages based on pre-defined filtering rules, and forwarding filtered messages to a receiving destination. Although the above described, patented techniques are quite effective in supporting a message delivery service, improvements are needed to provide a wider range of services.
SUMMARYSystems and processes for communication of messages between one or more networked objects on circuit and packet data networks are described. Specifically, means for representation of various communication types, including content description and disposition rules, delivery and routing descriptions and rules, conversion and translation descriptions and rules, and methods for interactions and for administration over one or more network types, through one or more communication protocol types, to one or more destination types are described.
The delivery of messages and other communication over various communication protocols in addition to email is described. Methods for administering and managing rules for directing and transforming said messages and communications for purposes of routing or delivery to one or more specific destinations are also presented.
Protocols used here for the signaling, transport and delivery of messages and other communication over communication networks include electronic mail (SMTP, POP, IMAP, etc.), instant messaging protocols, session and signaling protocols (e.g. session initiation protocol or SIP) and transport over protocols such as TCP/IP. The use of distributed authoring and versioning (DAV) protocols is also described for message delivery. Authentication and network security techniques in general are used for the delivery of the messages and other communication.
In other embodiments of the invention, mark-up languages that determine the rules for disposition or presentation of messages or other communication between one or more networked objects are used (examples include HTML, XML, etc.). The use of representation methods for unified approaches to document handling, message and communication handling, signaling, routing, security, and other methods of disposition or handling of interactions and sessions as part of a successful communication transaction are described.
Unit 340 also determines where the incoming call should be routed, for delivery to an end-user, or to one or more locations specified by an end-user, or through a system of defining rules. Once unit 340 has made a determination on the proper routing of the incoming call, this call is routed to a specified communication server 342 where it is processed. Simultaneously, or unrelated to these events, unit 340 also determines whether the end-user that is the intended recipient of the fax incoming call, is connected on one or more end-user devices that are capable of receiving the fax message, or any information pertaining to the fax. In an embodiment of the invention, unit 340 determines how an end-user is available, through an instant messaging client end-user device. Such an end-user can be available on computer unit 322 that is running an instant message client program. In that case, status messages pertaining to the receipt of the fax message may be sent to unit 322.
Unit 322, and in particular via the instant messaging client program, may then request further information pertaining to the received fax message, and may even further request a routing of the fax message to one or more other end-user devices. For example, the end-user may request that a copy of the fax be sent to his instant messaging client, along with an additional copy of the fax being sent to his email storage system. This request is sent to unit 340, which further instructs communication server 342 to send a copy of the fax message to unit 322, along with a further copy to message storage unit 336, which represents the email storage unit specified by the end-user.
In the process described by
Unit 340 may signal to one or more end-users to determine whether they are connected and available to receive messages or other communication. This signaling may be accomplished through one or more protocols, including the use of an instant messaging protocol. Through this process, unit 340 determines that unit 322 is available to receive messages. Hence, it further directs status messages pertaining to the received fax message to unit 322. Subsequently, unit 322 signals via an instant messaging protocol, to unit 340, requesting that a copy of the fax message be sent to it, and further requesting that a copy of the fax be sent to a specified email address. Unit 340 then instructs unit 342 to transmit a copy of the fax, via an instant messaging protocol, to unit 322. Further, it instructs unit 342 to send a copy of the fax message via SMTP to a message storage unit 336.
The process of signaling and communication described in the embodiment of
Within the system of the invention, communication, messages or documents that are to be transmitted from one or more elements of the network to another sometimes require to be translated or modified, either in their content, or in their signaling methods, or otherwise encapsulated in a way that permits their transmission across one or more networks, protocols or other media. The embodiment described here permits such operations to be performed, wherein rules or other directives are interpreted by the call management system 190 of
One of several signaling mechanisms may be used to establish communication such as those described in
The representation language shown in
Instructions of the format specified in
The invention described above lies in systems and processes for communication of not just messages, but also documents, or other information or interaction between one or more networked objects on circuit and packet data networks. The means for representation of various communication types include content description and disposition rules, delivery and routing descriptions and rules, conversion and translation descriptions and rules, and methods for interactions and for administration over one or more network types, through one or more communication protocol types, to one or more destination types.
Turning now to
The translation between the circuit switched network 704 and the message delivery service data network 728 is performed using a media gateway 732. The media gateway 732 may digitize incoming analog phone or fax call signals. In addition, the gateway 732 may translate a message that may be received in multiple packets through the data network 728 into a format suitable for fax-tone transmission to a facsimile device 736, or suitable for transmission to a land phone or a mobile phone 744 that may not be accessible directly through the data network 728. A call management system 748 as a node of the message delivery service data network 728 serves to manage the inbound and outbound services, so that messages from incoming calls are delivered to the appropriate end user machine 708 or 712, as well as the reverse in which messages originating from an end user machine on a data network are transmitted to the non-data network receivers.
Note that although in
A further advantage of the DAV mechanism for the end-user leg of the communication path is that the tags of the mark-up language shown in
For purposes of explanation, specific embodiments were set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, these embodiments merely illustrate the principles of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements, which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention, and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples and conditional language that have been recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventors to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure. Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the invention. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, pseudocode and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and so executed by a computer or processor, whether or not explicitly shown.
The functions of the various elements shown in the figures, including functional blocks labeled as “processors” or “servers” may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, server or computer, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicit use of the term “processor”, “server”, or “computer” should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, read-only memory (ROM) for storing software, random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage. Other hardware and/or software, conventional and/or custom, may also be included.
In the claims below, any element expressed as a means for performing a specified function is intended to encompass any way of performing that function including, for example, a) a combination of circuit elements which performs that function or b) software in any form, including, therefore, firmware, microcode or the like, combined with appropriate circuitry for executing that software to perform the function. The invention as defined by such claims resides in the fact that the functionalities provided by the various recited means are combined and brought together in the manner which the claims call for. Applicant thus regards any means, which can provide these functionalities as being equivalent to those shown herein.
Claims
1. A system comprising:
- a first set of communication servers to be coupled to a first set of switches of a first circuit switched network, for receiving a first set of incoming call signals, wherein the first set of incoming call signals are from a first origin and include a first inbound address identifying a first destination of said first set of incoming call signals wherein said first set of communication servers are to be further coupled to a first data network and containing a message processing resource configured to receive and process said first set of incoming call signals into a first digital representation, wherein each communication server is coupled to said first circuit switched network to extract the first inbound address, and said message processing resource being further configured to determine, based on the first inbound address, a) a first set of attributes that define a disposition of said first set of incoming call signals and how to send the first digital representation of said first set of incoming call signals to said first destination, b) and via an instant messaging protocol whether a user is connected to the first set of communication servers by a device that can accept a message obtained from the incoming call signals.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 5, 2012
Publication Date: May 10, 2012
Applicant: j2 Global Communications (Hollywood, CA)
Inventors: Anand Narasimhan (Berkeley, CA), Leo D'Angelo (Santa Clarita, CA)
Application Number: 13/344,376
International Classification: H04L 12/66 (20060101);