Voice over internet protocol
View Patent ↗A voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) directory service for communications users of an enterprise locates a telephone or work station of a called party for the purpose of setting up real-time communication, either from a pulse code modulation (PCM) telephone or from an Internet protocol (IP) telephone, or a computer by way of the world wide web, using a common directory database. Once the directory entry has been found, it may be immediately called through use of translated addresses assigned to the selected called party device.
1. A method for supporting a real time communication for and between both a pulse code modulation (PCM) telephone network and an Internet protocol (IP) telephone packet network in an enterprise including the steps of:
providing a gateway responsive to calls from a calling party on either the IP telephone network or the PCM telephone network for answering calls;
obtaining directory prompt messages from an IP gateway;
responding to DTMF or voice recognition signals from the calling party and searching a directory database for a closest match of a name;
playing the directory prompt messages to the calling party and audibly announcing the closest match;
negotiating an acceptable name with the calling party and prompting the calling party for acceptance of the closest match;
looking up an address translation in the directory database in response to the name selected by the calling party; and
attempting the real time communication to a called party utilizing the address translation corresponding to the name, if required.
2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the step of negotiating an acceptable name includes the gateway prompting the calling party for a next name and a previous name of the closest match of the name found in the directory database.
3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the directory database comprising a plurality of databases of the enterprise relationally linked.
4. A VOIP directory service system comprising:
a VOIP gateway receiving a calling party request from either a PCM network or an IP network comprising a desired called party;
a decoder coupled to the VOIP gateway, the decoder interpreting the calling party request into computer-readable format such that the gateway is able to perform a look-up from a plurality of directory service memories to determine a match with the calling party request;
a voice response unit coupled to the decoder and the VOIP gateway to audibly reply to the calling party a name associated with the match and an approval prompt to accept the name; and
a translation database coupled to the VOIP gateway, upon receipt of acceptance of the name the translation database looks up a connection address for the name corresponding to the desired called party, and the system proceeds with a communication between the calling party and the desired called party.
5. The VOIP directory service system of claim 4 , wherein the approval prompt comprises a“find next” and a“find previous” prompt for the calling party to select.
6. The VOIP directory service system of claim 4 , wherein the look-up is from a plurality of directory service memories using a number of relational links to each of the directory service memories.
7. The VOIP directory service system of claim 4 further comprising a PBX system coupled to the VOIP gateway and receiving communication routing commands from the gateway.
8. The VOIP directory service system of claim 7 , wherein the VOIP gateway is embedded within the PBX system.
9. The VOIP directory service system of claim 4 , wherein the calling party request comprises one of a voice response or a key response.