Granted Patent B2

US 8,521,137 · App. 12/195,765 · Granted Aug 27, 2013

Abstract

Claims (62)

1. A method for utilizing a common voicemail box for a fixed-mobile convergence device comprising:

automatically providing a confirmation message from a mobile client to an enterprise system in response to an enterprise call from the enterprise system being answered by a user at the mobile client, the enterprise call being provided to the mobile client in response to an incoming call from a calling party to the enterprise system;

connecting the incoming call with the mobile client in response to the confirmation message being received by the enterprise system to indicate that the enterprise call has been answered by the user at the mobile client; and

connecting the incoming call to an enterprise voicemail box instead of a voicemail box of the mobile client in response to determining that the user did not answer the incoming call at the mobile client.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining at the mobile client whether the enterprise call originated from the enterprise system; and

the confirmation message from the mobile client being provided in response to determining that the enterprise call originated from the enterprise system.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile client is programmed to provide the confirmation message as information on a data channel.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the confirmation message is provided from the mobile client via a voice channel.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the confirmation message comprises a predetermined dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) sequence of at least one tone.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising controlling a transmission time for providing the confirmation message from the mobile client.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the providing of the confirmation message further comprises:

providing a first DTMF sequence of at least one first tone at a first time after establishing a call connection for the enterprise call between the mobile client and the enterprise system; and

providing a second DTMF sequence of at least one second tone a second time period after the first time.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the second time period is predefined, the method further comprising filtering out DTMF tones at the enterprise system, including the second DTMF sequence in response to detecting the first DTMF sequence.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising inserting one of silence or predetermined audio in place of the filtered out DTMF tones.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, at the mobile client, whether the enterprise call is anchored in the enterprise system in response to the incoming call from the calling party;

the mobile client providing the confirmation message if the enterprise call is determined to be anchored in the enterprise system, and

the mobile client refraining from providing the confirmation message in the absence of determining that the enterprise call is anchored in the enterprise system.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising associating metadata with the enterprise call from the enterprise system to inform the mobile client that the enterprise call is anchored in the enterprise system.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising providing information to the mobile client from the enterprise system via a data channel to inform the mobile client that the enterprise call from the enterprise system has been anchored in the enterprise system.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

activating a confirmation timer at the enterprise system in response to detecting a call connected event; and

determining if answering party is the user based on whether the confirmation message is received before the confirmation timer expires at a predetermined answer time.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

bridging the incoming call from the enterprise system to the calling party in response to detecting the confirmation message in a voice media stream from the mobile client from activation of the confirmation timer until the confirmation timer reaches the predetermined answer time; and

connecting the incoming call with the mobile client after the confirmation timer reaches the predetermined answer time.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

disconnecting the enterprise call from the enterprise system in response to detecting the absence of receiving a confirmation message prior to expiration of the confirmation timer; and

forwarding the incoming call to the enterprise voicemail box associated with an enterprise telephone number of the user.

16. A mobile client comprising:

a processor configured to execute instructions stored in memory for controlling operation of the mobile client; and

the memory comprising instructions programmed to perform a call control method comprising:

determining if the incoming wireless voice call is anchored in the enterprise system; and

automatically providing a confirmation message to an enterprise system in response to detecting that an incoming wireless voice call from the enterprise system has been anchored in the enterprise system and has been answered for voice communication at the mobile client.

17. The mobile client of claim 16 , further comprising a voice interface, the call control method employing the voice interface to send the confirmation message to the enterprise system via a voice channel.

18. The mobile client of claim 17 , wherein the call control method further comprises a confirmation message control programmed to cause the mobile client to transmit a first confirmation message a predetermined time after determining that the incoming wireless voice call has been answered, and to transmit at least one second confirmation message at a predetermined time period thereafter transmitting the first confirmation message.

19. The mobile client of claim 16 , further comprising a data interface, the call control method employing the data interface to send the confirmation message to the enterprise system via a data channel.

20. The mobile client of claim 16 in combination with the enterprise system to provide a communication system, the communication system comprising:

the enterprise system being programmed to place an outgoing call to the mobile client, corresponding to the incoming wireless voice call from the enterprise system, in response to the enterprise system receiving a third party call from a calling party to an enterprise telephone number that is associated with the mobile client, the third party call defining a first call leg and the outgoing call defining a second call leg;

the enterprise system connecting the first call leg with the second call leg to provide a media connection between the calling party and the mobile client if the confirmation message is received by the enterprise system; and

the enterprise system connecting the third party call to a designated voicemail box associated with the enterprise telephone number if the confirmation message is not received by the enterprise system.

21. An enterprise system comprising:

a voicemail system configured to provide a voicemail box for a plurality of enterprise telephone numbers associated with the enterprise system;

a computer programmed to perform a call control method comprising:

placing an enterprise call to a mobile client in response to receiving a third party call from a calling party to an enterprise telephone number that is associated with the mobile client, the third party call defining a first call leg and the enterprise call defining a second call leg;

activating a confirmation timer in response to detecting a call connected event;

connecting the first call leg with the second call leg to provide a media connection between the calling party and the mobile client in response to receiving a predefined confirmation message from the mobile client before the confirmation timer reaches a predetermined answer time that indicates an end user has answered the enterprise call at the mobile client; and

connecting the first call leg to a designated voicemail box of the voicemail system in response to determining that the end user has not answered the enterprise call at the mobile client based on the confirmation timer reaching the predetermined answer time.

22. The enterprise system of claim 21 , wherein the call control method further comprises:

a bridging function that bridges the media connection between the calling party and the mobile client in response to detecting the predefined confirmation message in a voice media stream from the mobile client, the media connection being bridged through the enterprise system from activation of the confirmation timer until the confirmation timer reaches the predetermined answer time, and

the call control method directly connecting the first call leg with the second call leg after the confirmation timer reaches the predetermined answer time.

23. The enterprise system of claim 22 , wherein the call control method further comprises a filter function that is programmed to remove the predefined confirmation message from the voice media stream while the media connection is bridged through the enterprise system.

24. The enterprise system of claim 21 , wherein the call control method further comprises anchoring control that is programmed to provide anchor data to the mobile client to inform that mobile client that the second call leg corresponds to a call that has been anchored in the enterprise.

25. The enterprise system of claim 24 , wherein the anchoring control is programmed to insert predetermined anchor data into at least one predetermined field of the enterprise call that is being placed to the mobile client to indicate that the third party call has been anchored in the enterprise system.

26. The enterprise system of claim 21 in combination with the mobile client to provide a communication system, the communication system comprising:

wherein the mobile client comprises:

a processor configured to execute instructions stored in memory for controlling operation of the mobile client; and

the memory comprising instructions programmed to automatically provide the predefined confirmation message to the enterprise system in response to detecting that the enterprise call from the enterprise system has been answered by the end user at the mobile client.

27. The method of claim 1 , wherein connecting the incoming call to an enterprise voicemail box associated with the mobile client further comprises automatically providing a negative confirmation message from the mobile client to the enterprise system in response to the enterprise call from the enterprise system not being answered by the user, wherein the incoming call is connected to the enterprise voicemail box in response to the negative confirmation message.

28. The method of claim 1 , wherein automatically providing the confirmation message comprises automatically providing the confirmation message from the mobile client to the enterprise system in response to the enterprise call from the enterprise system being answered by the user at the mobile client separately from and subsequent to signaling between an associated base station and the mobile client for setting up and connecting the enterprise call.

Assignments (26)