Architecture for the rapid creation of telephony services in a next generation network
View Patent ↗A service architecture for the rapid development of next generation telephony services that overcomes the limitations of the current closed PSTN architecture and service model. In this architecture services are provided by multiple cooperating distributed service providers. This architecture is built upon an object-oriented call model which is defined as a small set of extensions to the standard Java Telephony API call model. This new object-oriented call model hides the detail of the underlying call-state management protocols and hardware from applications.
1. In a communication system including a calling and a called party and a plurality of providers which can provide a plurality of individual additional services or functions for a communication between a calling and a called party, a method for providing one such individual service or function from one of said plurality of providers, said method comprising the steps of:
establishing a communication connection between the calling and called parties;
suspending said connection if one of said calling or called parties needs to add a resource from one of the providers for an additional service or function to be employed for the communication between the parties;
under control of one of the parties, establishing a separate connection to one of the providers to obtain the additional resource;
providing said resource to a control platform which is distinct from the terminals of the parties to the communication, said providing including inserting said resource into said control platform; and
under control of said control platform, making said additional service available to at least one of said parties.
2. The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said control platform includes a call model including a Sender_Consult state, a Sender_Suspend state, a Receiver Consult state and a Receiver_Suspend state for tracking communications between the calling and called parties during the suspension of said connection between the calling and called parties.
3. In a communication system including a plurality of subscribers and a plurality of providers which can provide a plurality of individual additional services or functions to said subscribers, a method for providing an individual one of said services or functions from one of said providers while a communication is in progress between two of said subscribers, said method comprising the steps of:
one of said subscribers advising the other of said subscribers of the desire to employ a particular resource for a service or function in connection with the communication between said subscribers and inquiring if said other subscriber has the resource;
if said other subscriber does not have such a resource, said other subscriber initiating acquisition of the resource from one of the plurality of providers and moving the communication connection between said subscribers to a suspend state;
upon said other subscriber acquiring said resource, sending a message from said other subscriber to said one subscriber advising that the resource has been acquired; and
resuming the communication between said subscribers.
4. The method in accordance with claim 3 further comprising the step of said one subscriber recommending a particular one of said plurality of providers to said other subscriber.