Telephonic communications – Special services – Service profile
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-05
2004-05-04
Hong, Harry S. (Department: 2642)
Telephonic communications
Special services
Service profile
C379S207030, C379S196000, C379S207150, C345S960000, C370S259000, C709S217000, C709S246000, C717S114000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06731732
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of data formatting using markup languages, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for calendar based call control.
2. Description of the Related Art
The development of the extensible markup language (XML) has provided great flexibility for formatting data for presentation in an interface such as a browser. XML acts as a framework for the structured representation of data and is superior to existing markup languages such as hypertext markup language (HTML). HTML on a high level is essentially a protocol for defining the appearance of text through the use of predefined tags. On the other hand, XML utilizes user-defined tags to define the structure and content of data. Notably, XML allows presentation of formatted data to be independently handled. XML's superiority can be attributed to its ability to separate form from content and also its capability to easily define the structure and content of any data.
Significant to the development of XML is the development of the open network application programming interface (API) in the area of telephony. In order to remain competitive, future integrated telephone networks will have to offer application developers a set of standard, open APIs so that applications written for compatibility with one vendor's system can execute in another vendor's system. In consequence, the cost of applications development can be amortized, reducing the final cost to the customer. Java APIs for Integrated Networks (JAIN) fulfills the requirements of the new open API in the area of telephony. Presently, JAIN includes standard, open published Java APIs for next-generation telephony systems consisting of integrated Internet Protocol (IP) networks, asynchronous transport mode (ATM) networks, PSTN, and wireless networks. The JAIN APIs include interfaces at the protocol level, for different protocols such as Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and Transactional Capabilities Application Part (TCAP), as well as protocols residing in the higher layers of the telecommunications protocol stack.
JAIN includes a set of integrated network APIs for the Java platform and an environment to build and integrate JAIN components into services or applications that work across PSTN, packet and wireless networks. The JAIN approach integrates wireline, wireless, and packet-based networks by separating service-based logic from network-based logic.
FIG. 1
illustrates a conventional JAIN implementation. As shown in
FIG. 1
, a conventional JAIN implementation can include a protocol layer
102
which can include interfaces to IP, wireline and wireless signaling protocols. Though TCAP (
110
B) and H.323 (
110
C) protocols
110
are shown, the protocols supported by the JAIN specification are not limited to those particular protocols and can include, for example, TCAP, ISUP, INAP, MAP, SIP, MGCP, and H.323. Moreover, the JAIN implementation can include an interface to a connectivity management and call control protocol such as JCC110A.
In addition to the protocol layer
102
, the conventional JAIN implementation can also include an application layer
104
for handling secure network access and other external services
120
. Also, the conventional JAIN implementation can include a service logic layer (service layer)
106
which can include a service creation and carrier grade service logic execution environment (SLEE)
108
. Service components
112
are the core JAIN components and can execute in the SLEE
108
. More particularly, service components
112
can implement telephony and network services and can be constructed according to a standard component model. Instantiations of service component assemblies execute in coordination with the SLEE
108
.
In operation, using information regarding the protocol layer
102
which can be incorporated into the SLEE
108
, service components
112
can interact with an underlying protocol stack
110
without having specific knowledge of the protocol stack
110
. More importantly, the SLEE
108
can relieve the service components
112
of conventional lifecycle responsibilities by providing portable support for transactions, persistence, load balancing, security, and object and connection instance pooling. In this way, the service components
112
can focus on providing telephony and/or network services. Notably, the SLEE
108
can be communicatively linked directly to client components such as external applications
116
, protocol stacks
110
and service components
112
.
For example, service components
112
executing at the service logic layer
106
in the SLEE
108
can communicate with protocol stacks
110
in the protocol layer through protocol adapters in the SLEE
108
. Protocol adapters typically can include class methods, callbacks, encapsulating interfaces, or event handlers. In many cases, an underlying protocol stack
110
can directly communicate with the SLEE
108
through an event table
114
in the SLEE
108
which can be configured to specifically handle events which are particular to the underlying protocol stack
110
. In consequence, the SLEE
108
can recognize those particular events, and upon receipt of such an event from the underlying protocol stack
110
, the SLEE
108
can pass the event to a subscribing service component
112
. Also, service components
112
can be individually programmed to interact with specific external services
120
, such as relational databases and directory services.
Given the apparent advantages of JAIN with it's set of integrated API for the Java platform, the use of the XML with its structured representation of data can be used to further enhance the ability of advanced intelligent networks (AIN). In calendar based systems, it is often necessary to access telephony related activities. For example, a call could be forwarded to an alternate telephone number listed as a calendar entry. However, entries in existing calendar are usually in free-form text areas which make recognition and identification of the entries difficult, thereby making it impractical to have an existing calendar based call control entries. Hence, what is needed is a more flexible approach for providing calendar based call control.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a method and apparatus for an extensible markup language (XML) calendar-telephony interface. The method for calendar based call control, can include the steps of defining an markup language element having a user defined tag that represents a calendar entry. The markup language element can have attributes which can represent call control instructions or information. The attributes can also be formatted using a markup language format that utilizes user defined tags. The call control instruction can be provided to a telephony application upon initiation of a call or by request. A calendar application program can be used for maintaining calendar entries which can be stored in a database and made accessible to the telephony call control application. The elements and/or attributes can be formatted using XML format.
The invention also discloses a method for providing calendar based call control. The method can include the steps of acquiring a called telephone number and a calling telephone number from a telephone network device for an associated telephone call. An identity of a party affiliated with the called telephone number can then be determined and call control information extracted from calendar entry associated with identified person. The calendar entry can be formatted using a markup language that does not have pre-defined tags. Here, the calendar entry can be formatted by utilizing user defined tags. The XML format can be used to format the calendar entries. The extracted control information can subsequently be used to control the disposition of the call. The extracting step can further include the steps of parsing the XML formatted calendar entry to determine a particular call control data in
Creamer Thomas E.
Lozinski Zygmunt A.
Moore Victor S.
Walters Glen R.
Akerman & Senterfitt
Hong Harry S.
International Business Machines - Corporation
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