1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to telecommunications systems and networks and more particularly, to managing calls in public and/or private telecommunications networks.
1. Background Description
Serial Ringing (SR) has proven to be a useful feature in modern private telecommunications systems such as the HiPath 8000 from Siemens Communications Inc. When a user expects to be away from his/her desk, for example, the user can setup an SR-list of numbers in expected locations, e.g., the lab, a co-worker's extension, home and cell phone. With the SR feature activated, when calls to the user (called party) arrive at the system, the system rings each location in the order listed until someone answers.
Currently, the system sequentially forwards each incoming call in the order presented in the SR-list. The forwarded call rings for a selected number of rings or a certain amount of time at each location along the way. Each caller has to wait for a time out at each listed location, e.g., for 4 rings (or 1 minute for each location), until the user answers. Even with calls placed to the user one right after the other, to reach the same location, each call traverses the SR-list in the same order, ringing each location for the same time until the user finally answers.
For example, the user may be at the third SR-list entry location with the SR-feature activated. Each time someone (a calling party or caller) calls the user, the system rings at the first SR-entry a selected number of rings (i.e., until a time out occurs); then, rings at the second SR-entry until a time out; and, finally, rings the third SR-entry where the user answers. As long the user is at this third listed location, any caller must wait for time-outs at the first and second locations before reaching the user at the third. The delay from pausing at each intermediate location unnecessarily wastes the caller's time and telecom system resources as well as. Further, with too many intermediate locations callers may become frustrated and hang up or transfer to voice mail before reaching the user, again wasting time and resources as well as frustrating the purpose of serial calling.
Thus, there is a need for reducing the delay in connecting calls to users through serial ringing.
It is a purpose of the invention to improve communications system efficiency;
It is another purpose of the invention to quickly connect callers with users that are away from their normal network endpoints;
The present invention relates to a method of managing communications in a communications network and a program product therefore. Users provide lists of expected future locations, e.g., Serial Ringing (SR) lists. As each call traverses a user's SR-list to contact a respective user, the user's current location (i.e., the endpoint at which a call is answered) is noted and the list is automatically altered (e.g., reordered or timeouts shortened) to shorten the time between receiving an incoming call at the system and ringing the answering endpoint. Thereafter, the altered SR-list is used to locate the respective user.
The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will be better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:
Turning now to the drawings and more particularly,
A suitable proxy server 112 provides a router function to private network 102. A gateway 114, e.g., a state of the art media gateway controller such as a SIP enabled private branch exchange (PBX), connects the network 102 externally. Typically, for example, the gateway 114 connects to a public switched telephone network/public land mobile network (PSTN/PLMN) 116 supporting typical connected telephones, e.g., land line telephones 118 and/or cell phones 120. The MTA 108 may be a SIP-MTA, connecting to the IP-network 102 at one side and one or more regular analog phones 119. One or more softswitch(s) 122, acting alone or in cooperation with each other, may perform network tasks e.g., routing, subscriber-features, administering the network, creating Call Detail Records (CDR), and acting as a Media Gateway Controller (MGC) remotely located in a data center.
Moreover, the softswitch(s) 122 manages calls to/from keysets 104, 106, 110 and telephones 119 (at MTA endpoint 108) from/to each other or through the gateway 114, e.g., to land line telephone 118. SR lists 124 for each user may be stored, e.g., in storage 126 at softswitch 122. Each SR list 124 includes a contact number for each of a number, e.g., six (6), of expected locations in an order selected by the respective user, e.g., the order in which the user expects to visit those locations or based on the likelihood that the user will be present in any one location. It should be noted that, although described herein with reference to a private network and more particularly to a private network supported by a SIP PBX, the present invention has application to any suitable communications system or network, private or public.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the preferred system 100 has an enhanced serial ringing feature, e.g., in software in softswitch 122, such that the system 100 adapts itself to the most recent user location. In particular, after ringing through and connecting with a user (called party) that has activated the SR feature, the softswitch 122 shortens connection time for subsequent calls. This adaptive serial ringing feature may behave subject to user subscription and setup. Further, this adapted serial ringing may temporarily change the ringing order or ringing time with the SR-list reverting to its original order or ring times when, for example, the softswitch 122 detects any activity at the user's first original EP.
In one preferred embodiment, the softswitch 122 notes the user's current location and reorders the SR-list to reduce system resource usage. Thus, the softswitch 122 may place the SR-entry at which the system last reached the user, i.e., the user's current location, at the top of the reordered list. The softswitch 122 may just reorder the list by moving the single entry for the last location to the top of the list. Alternately, the system may move all of the entries listed before that last location to the end of the list, i.e., rotate the listed entries, such that any listed entries after the current location ring before moved entries.
In another preferred embodiment, the softswitch 122 shortens the ringing time at each intervening EP, i.e., the EP entries listed before that last location ring twice. Thus, subsequent forwarded calls pause at each intervening EP briefly on the way to the last answering location. Thereafter, once the system detects activity in the user's home location or in intervening locations, the system may reset/restore the original ring time. Such activity may include, for example, checking voice mail from an intervening end point or at the user's home location. Answering from one of those intervening locations may also triggers restoring the original order or resetting ringing.
Thereafter, when the softswitch 122 receives the next call 150 to the user, since the SR list 124′ was adapted based on the most recent call answered, the softswitch 122 forwards that call 152 directly to that answering location 108, where the user answers 154. If the user fails to answer at that location 106, the switch continues forwarding to listed locations 104, 110 in the reordered list 124′ with changes in user location noted and the list adjusted.
Advantageously, the present invention provides adaptive serial ringing that learns where users currently can be reached and temporarily changes the SR-list to shorten the time to the called party, e.g., changing the SR order or shortening the ringing time for intervening EPs. Thus, delay from pausing at each intermediate or intervening location is eliminated or dramatically reduced to avoid unnecessarily wasting the caller's time and telecom system resources and frustrating callers.
While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. It is intended that all such variations and modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims. Examples and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.