USOO8724622B2
`
`(12) Unlted States Patent
`(10) Patent N0.:
`US 8,724,622 B2
`
`Rojas
`(45) Date of Patent:
`*May 13, 2014
`
`(54) SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INSTANT VOIP
`MESSAGING
`.
`.
`Inventor: Mlchael J. R0] as, North Canton, OH
`(US)
`
`(75)
`
`(73) Assignee: Empire IP LLC, Austin, TX (US)
`:1:
`~
`.
`~
`~
`~
`
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`
`7 ,535,890 B2
`8,199,747 B2
`2003/0087632 A1
`2003/0126207 A1
`2004/0014456 A1
`2004/0030046 A1
`2004/0085456 A1
`2004/0122906 A1
`2004/0128356 A1
`2004/0179092 A1
`
`5/2009 Rojas
`6/2012 Rojas
`5/2003 Sagi et a1.
`7/2003 Creamer et a1.
`“2004 vaménen
`2/2004 Schultes et a1.
`5/2004 Kwag et a1.
`6/2004 Goodman et a1.
`7/2004 Bernstein et a1.
`9/2004 La Point
`
`(
`
`)
`
`Patent 15 extended or adJusted under 35
`USC 15403) by 0 days
`.
`.
`.
`.
`.
`T1115 Patent 15 5111860t to a tennmal dls'
`013111131
`
`(21) App1.No.: 13/546,673
`.
`F11ed:
`
`Jul. 11, 2012
`
`(22)
`
`3k
`
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . N
`12/2004 Williams et a1.
`2004/0252679 A1
`3/2005 Gierachf
`2005/0053230 A1
`5/2005 Hollowell et a1.
`2005/0105697 A1
`6/2005 Hurtta et a1.
`................ .. 370/401
`2005/0117591 A1 *
`7/2006 Boukobza
`2006/0167883 A1
`2006/0268750 A1* 11/2006 Weiner ........................ .. 370/260
`
`2007/0112925 A1
`
`5/2007 Malik
`(Continued)
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2012/0275452 A1
`
`N0V~ 1: 2012
`_
`_
`Related U.S. Appllcat10n Data
`(63) Continuation of application No. 12/398,063, filed on
`Mar. 4, 2009, now Pat. No. 8,243,723, which is a
`.
`.
`.
`.
`cont1nuat1on of appl1cat1on No. 10/740,030, filed on
`Dec. 18, 2003, now Pat. No. 7,535,890.
`
`_
`_
`_
`http://www.01sco.com/warp/publlc/cc/pd/nemnsw/callmn/pr0d11t/
`cm33ids.htm; “Data Sheet Cisco CallManager Version 3.3”, Nov.
`22, 2002.
`
`(commued)
`.
`.
`P .
`.
`rzmary Exammer 7 Cre1ghton Sm1th
`74 A
`A
`F.
`J hn R K h . K 11 L
`(
`)
`"WW gem! or m” i 0
`~
`as as
`e y
`Kasha; Kasha Law LLC
`
`~
`
`(2006.01)
`
`(51)
`
`(56)
`
`Int. Cl.
`H04L 12/66
`(52) US. Cl.
`USPC ....................... .. 370/352; 709/206; 379/88.17
`(58) Field of Classification Search
`USPC ....................... .. 379/88.17; 709/206; 370/352
`See appllcatlon file for complete searCh hIStOI'Y
`_
`References Clted
`U S PATENT DOCUMENTS
`.
`.
`6,763,226 B1
`7,372,826 B2 *
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`Methods, systems and programs for instant voice messaging
`over a packet-switched network are provided. A method for
`instant voice messaging may comprise receiving an instant
`voice message having one or more recipients; delivering the
`instant voice message to the one or more recipients over a
`packet-switched network,
`temporarily storing the instant
`voice message ifa recipient is unavailable; and delivering the
`stored instant voice message to the recipient once the recipi-
`ent becomes available.
`
`39 Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets
`
`7/2004 McZeal, Jr.
`5/2008 Dahod et a1.
`
`................ .. 370/328
`
`214
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`LIVM CLIENT
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`[VM CLIENT
`(VOIP
`PHONE)
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`7
`PHONE
`
`Page 1 of 25
`
`Samsung Exhibit 1001
`
`Page 1 of 25
`
`Samsung Exhibit 1001
`
`

`

`US 8,724,622 B2
`Page 2
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`7/2007 Barry
`2007/0174403 A1
`2008/0298309 A1* 12/2008 DePietro et al.
`2009/0161664 A1
`6/2009 Rojas
`2010/0070275 A1
`3/2010 Cast
`2013/0279681 A1* 10/2013 Weiner ................... .. 379/207.02
`
`............ .. 370/328
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`US. Office Action dated Oct. 18, 2011 received in related case,
`namely. U.S. Appl. No. 12/398,063, filed Mar. 4, 2009.
`
`“Teliphone
`
`http://Www.hsteliann.corrl/english/?zone:3100-V21P;
`3100-V21P”, 2003.
`http://WWW.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT5199947519.html;
`“Device Profile: snom 100 VoIP phone”, May 15, 2002.
`the
`http://Www.pingtel.com/prixpressaj sp; No
`limits With
`and
`advanced industry standard SIP phone, Dec.
`8, 2003;
`AudioCoded Enabling Technology Products, TPM-1100 VoP Media
`Gateway Modules; 2003.
`US. Final Office Action dated Jan. 25, 2012 received in related case,
`namely, U.S. Appl. No. 12/398,063 filed Mar. 4, 2009.
`Notice of Allowance dated Mar. 30, 2012 received in related case,
`namely, U.S. Appl. No. 12/398,063, filed Mar. 4, 2009.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Page 2 of 25
`
`Page 2 of 25
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`May 13, 2014
`
`Sheet 1 019
`
`US 8,724,622 132
`
`
`
`IP NETWORK
`(INTERNET)
`
`
`
`SOFTRHONE
`
`
`
`
`
`LEGACY
`SWHCH
`
`PHONE
`
`FIG, 1
`(PRIOR ART)
`
`Page 3 of 25
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`Page 3 of 25
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`May 13, 2014
`
`Sheet 2 of9
`
`US 8,724,622 132
`
`214
`
`216
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`‘LOCAL
`IVM
`SERVER
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`S“HNXI
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`FIG, 2
`
`Page 4 of 25
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`Page 4 of 25
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`May 13, 2014
`
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`US 8,724,622 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`May 13, 2014
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`U.S. Patent
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`May 13, 2014
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`May 13, 2014
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`U.S. Patent
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`May 13, 2014
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`Sheet 9 of 9
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`US 8,724,622 B2
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`Page 11 0f 25
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`Page 11 of 25
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`
`
`

`

`US 8,724,622 B2
`
`1
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INSTANT VOIP
`MESSAGING
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATION
`
`This application is a continuation of US. application Ser.
`No. 12/398,063 filed Mar. 4, 2009, which is now US. Patent
`Publication Number 2009/0161664 A1, published Jun. 25,
`2009, which is a continuation of US. application Ser. No.
`10/740,030 filed on Dec. 18, 2003, now US. Pat. No. 7,535,
`890, issued May 19, 2009, the entire content and disclosure of
`which is incorporated by reference.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Technical Field of the Invention
`
`The present invention generally relates to Internet tele-
`phony (IP telephony). More particularly, the present inven-
`tion is directed to a system and method for enabling local and
`global instant VoIP messaging over an IP network, such as the
`Internet, with PSTN support.
`2. Description of the Prior Art
`Traditional telephony is based on a public switched tele-
`phone network (i.e., “PSTN”). In the PSTN, a telephone
`terminal is electrically connected to a conventional or legacy
`switch. The telephone terminal and the legacy switch com-
`municate via a proprietary protocol, which may be different
`depending on the vendor of the legacy switch. Circuit switch-
`ing provides a communicationpath (i.e., dedicated circuit) for
`a telephone call from the telephone terminal to another device
`over the PSTN, including another telephone terminal. During
`the telephone call, voice communication takes place over that
`communication path.
`An alternative to the PSTN is Voice over Internet Protocol
`
`(i.e., “VoIP”), also known as IP telephony or Internet tele-
`phony. In the IP telephony, a VoIP terminal device is con-
`nected to a packet-switched network (e. g., Internet) and voice
`communication from the VoIP terminal device is digitized,
`packetized and transmitted over the packet-switched network
`to a destination VoIP terminal device, which reconstructs the
`packets and audibly plays, stores or otherwise processes the
`transmission. The VoIP terminal device may be a VoIP tele-
`phone or a general-purpose personal computer (PC) enabled
`for IP telephony. More specifically, the PC is programmed
`with the software and equipped with audio input/output
`devices (e.g., a combination of microphone and speaker or a
`headset) to serve as aVoIP terminal device. The PC so enabled
`and equipped will herein be referred to as a VoIP terminal
`device or a VoIP softphone.
`FIG. 1 is an illustrative example of a prior art IP telephony
`system 100. The IP telephony system 100 comprises a packet-
`switched IP network 102, such as the Internet, which trans-
`mits VoIP traffic from and to a plurality of terminal devices
`104, 106 and 110. Terminal device 104 is a VoIP softphone
`that is enabled for IP telephony over the network 102. Termi-
`nal device 106 is aVoIP telephone, which is connected to the
`network 102 via a softswitch 108. The VoIP softswitch 108 is
`
`disposed on the packet-switched network (e.g., Internet) 102
`between an origination terminal device (such as VoIP soft-
`phone 104) and a destination terminal device (such as VoIP
`telephone 106), and routes packets over the packet-switched
`IP network 102. The softswitch 108 may also manage and
`perform administrative functions for the terminal device or
`devices (e.g., VoIP telephone 106) to which it is connected.
`Whether the terminal device is aVoIP softphone 104 or aVoIP
`telephone 106, the terminal device is connected to the IP
`
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`network 102 via a networking standard such as Ethernet,
`Bluetooth, IEEE 1394 (also known as “Firewire”), IEEE
`802.11 (also known as “WiFi”), or networking over serial
`communication channels such as the Universal Serial Bus
`
`(i.e., “USB”). Data communication over the network then
`takes place using a connection protocol, e. g., transfer control
`protocol/Internet protocol (i.e., “TCP/IP”).
`Further regarding FIG. 1, terminal device 110 is a legacy
`telephone that is connected to a legacy switch 112 for (circuit-
`switched) voice communications over the PSTN 116 with
`other terminal devices. A media gateway 114 may be pro-
`vided between the legacy switch 112 and the packet-switched
`network 102 to enable IP telephony between the legacy tele-
`phone 110 and a VoIP terminal device, such as a VoIP soft-
`phone 104 or VoIP telephone 106. More specifically, the
`media gateway 114 converts the audio signal carried over
`PSTN to packets carried over the packet-switched IP network
`102. In addition, a media gateway 118 may be disposed over
`the PSTN 116 and connected to a softswitch 120 to convert
`
`the audio signal from the legacy telephone 110 to packets
`routed over the IP network 102 via the softswitch 120.
`
`Voice messaging in both the VoIP and PSTN is known.
`More specifically, the foregoing systems may be provided
`with a facility to allow users to leave voice messages for
`recipients, which is a feature that is familiar to anyone who
`uses a telephone. Conventionally, leaving a voice message
`involves dialing the recipient’s telephone number (often
`without knowing whether the recipient will answer), waiting
`for the connection to be established, speaking to an operator
`or navigating through a menu of options, listening to a greet-
`ing message, and recording the message for later pickup by
`the recipient. In that message, the user must typically identify
`himself or herself in order for the recipient to return the call.
`Instant text messaging is likewise known. More specifi-
`cally, a user is provided with a client terminal, which is
`typically a general-purpose PC programmed with instant text
`messaging software and in data communication over an IP
`network with an instant text-messaging server. The instant
`text-messaging server presents the user, via the client termi-
`nal, with a list of persons who are currently “online” and
`ready to receive text messages on their own client terminals.
`The user then uses the client terminal to select one or more
`
`persons to whom the message will be sent and types in a text
`message. The text message is sent immediately via the text-
`messaging server to the selected one or more persons and is
`displayed on their respective client terminals.
`However, notwithstanding the foregoing advances in the
`VoIP/PSTN voice communication and voice/text messaging,
`there is still a need in the art for providing a system and
`method for providing instant VoIP messaging over an IP
`network. More particularly, there is a need in the art for
`providing local and global instant voice messaging over VoIP
`with PSTN support.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention is directed to a system and method
`for enabling local and global instant VoIP messaging over an
`IP network, such as the Internet.
`According to an embodiment of the present invention,
`there is provided an instant voice messaging system for deliv-
`ering instant messages over a packet-switched network, the
`system comprising: a client connected to the network, the
`client selecting one or more recipients, generating an instant
`voice message therefor, and transmitting the selected recipi-
`ents and the instant voice message therefor over the network;
`and a server connected to the network, the server receiving the
`
`Page 12 of 25
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`

`US 8,724,622 B2
`
`3
`selected recipients and the instant voice message therefor, and
`delivering the instant voice message to the selected recipients
`over the network, the selected recipients being enabled to
`audibly play the instant voice message.
`According to another embodiment ofthe present invention,
`there is provided an instant voice messaging system for deliv-
`ering instant messages over a packet-switched network
`enabling public switched telephone network (PSTN) support,
`the system comprising: a PSTN telephone connected to the
`network for providing input audio; a client connected to the
`network, the client selecting one or more recipients, generat-
`ing an instant voice message therefor using the input audio
`provided by the PSTN telephone, and transmitting the
`selected recipients and the instant voice message therefor
`over the network; a server connected to the network, the
`server receiving the selected recipients and the instant voice
`message therefor, and delivering the instant voice message to
`the selected recipients over the network, the selected recipi-
`ents being enabled to audibly play the instant voice message.
`According to a further embodiment of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided an instant voice messaging system for
`delivering instant messages over a packet-switched network,
`the system comprising: a voice-over-internet-protocol (VolP)
`telephone connected to the network for providing input audio;
`a client connected to the network, the client selecting one or
`more recipients, generating an instant voice message therefor
`using the input audio provided by the VolP telephone, and
`transmitting the selected recipients and the instant voice mes-
`sage therefor over the network; a server connected to the
`network, the server receiving the selected recipients and the
`instant voice message therefor, and delivering the instant
`voice message to the selected recipients over the network, the
`selected recipients being enabled to audibly play the instant
`voice message.
`According to still another embodiment of the present
`invention, there is provided an instant voice messaging sys-
`tem for delivering instant messages over a plurality ofpacket-
`switched networks, the system comprising: a client con-
`nected to a local network, the client selecting one or more
`external recipients connected to an external network outside
`the local network, generating an instant voice message there-
`for, and transmitting the selected recipients and the instant
`voice message therefor over the local network and the exter-
`nal network; and a server connected to the external network,
`the server receiving the selected recipients and the instant
`voice message therefor, and delivering the instant voice mes-
`sage to the selected recipients over the external network, the
`selected recipients being enabled to audibly play the instant
`voice message.
`According to yet another embodiment ofthe present inven-
`tion, there is provided an instant voice messaging system for
`delivering instant messages over a plurality of packet-
`switched networks enabling public switched telephone net-
`work (PSTN) support, the system comprising: a PSTN tele-
`phone connected to a local network for providing input audio;
`a client connected to the local network, the client selecting
`one or more external recipients connected to an external
`network outside the local network, generating an instant
`voice message therefor using the input audio provided by the
`PSTN telephone, and transmitting the selected recipients and
`the instant voice message therefor over the local network and
`the external network; a server connected to the external net-
`work, the server receiving the selected recipients and the
`instant voice message therefor, and delivering the instant
`voice message to the selected recipients over the external
`network, the selected recipients being enabled to audibly play
`the instant voice message.
`
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`4
`
`According to yet a further embodiment of the present
`invention, there is provided an instant voice messaging sys-
`tem for delivering instant messages over a plurality ofpacket-
`switched networks, the system comprising: a voice-over-in-
`temet-protocol
`(VolP)
`telephone connected to a local
`network for providing input audio; a client connected to the
`local network, the client selecting one or more external recipi-
`ents connected to an external network outside the local net-
`
`work, generating an instant voice message therefor using the
`input audio provided by the VolP telephone, and transmitting
`the selected recipients and the instant voice message therefor
`over the local network and the external network; an server
`connected to the external network, the external server receiv-
`ing the selected recipients and the instant voice message
`therefor, and delivering the instant voice message to the
`selected recipients over the external network, the selected
`recipients being enabled to audibly play the instant voice
`message.
`According to still a further embodiment of the present
`invention, there is provided an instant voice messaging sys-
`tem for delivering instant messages over a plurality ofpacket-
`switched networks, the system comprising: a client con-
`nected to an external network, the client selecting one or more
`recipients connected to a local network, generating an instant
`voice message therefor, and transmitting the selected recipi-
`ents and the instant voice mes sage therefor over the external
`network; an external server system connected to the external
`network, the external server system receiving the selected
`recipients and the instant voice message, and routing the
`selected recipients and the instant voice message over the
`external network and the local network; a local server con-
`nected to the local network, the local server receiving the
`selected recipients and the instant voice message therefor, and
`delivering the instant voice message to the selected recipients
`over the local network, the selected recipients being enabled
`to audibly play the instant voice message.
`According to an embodiment of the present invention,
`there is provided a method for instant voice messaging over a
`packet-switched network, the method comprising: selecting
`one or more recipients for instant voice messaging at a client;
`generating an instant voice message for the selected recipi-
`ents at the client; transmitting the selected recipients and the
`instant voice message therefor over the network from the
`client to a server; receiving the selected recipients and the
`instant voice message therefor at the server; delivering the
`instant voice message from the server to the selected recipi-
`ents over the network; and audibly playing the instant voice
`message at the selected recipients.
`According to another embodiment ofthe present invention,
`there is provided a method for instant voice messaging over a
`packet- switched network enabling public switched telephone
`network (PSTN) support, the method comprising: providing
`input audio via a PSTN telephone connected over the net-
`work; selecting one or more recipients for instant voice mes-
`saging at a client; generating an instant voice message using
`the input audio from the PSTN telephone for the selected
`recipients at the client; transmitting the selected recipients
`and the instant voice message therefor over the network from
`the client to a server; receiving the selected recipients and the
`instant voice message therefor at the server; delivering the
`instant voice message from the server to the selected recipi-
`ents over the network; and audibly playing the instant voice
`message at the selected recipients.
`According to a further embodiment of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided a method for instant voice messaging
`over a packet- switched network, the method comprising: pro-
`viding input audio via a voice-over-intemet-protocol (VolP)
`
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`US 8,724,622 B2
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`5
`telephone connected over the network; selecting one or more
`recipients for instant voice messaging at a client; generating
`an instant voice message using the input audio from the VoIP
`telephone for the selected recipients at the client; transmitting
`the selected recipients and the instant voice message therefor
`over the network from the client to a server; receiving the
`selected recipients and the instant voice message therefor at
`the server; delivering the instant voice message from the
`server to the selected recipients over the network; and audibly
`playing the instant voice message at the selected recipients.
`According to still another embodiment of the present
`invention, there is provided a method for instant voice mes-
`saging over a plurality of packet-switched networks,
`the
`method comprising: selecting one or more external recipients
`for instant voice messaging at a client connected to a local
`network, the one or more external recipients connected to an
`external network outside the local network; generating an
`instant voice message for the selected external recipients at
`the client; transmitting the selected external recipients and the
`instant voice message therefor over the local network and the
`external network; receiving the selected external recipients
`and the instant voice message therefor at an external server
`connected to the external network; delivering the instant
`voice message to the selected external recipients over the
`external network; and audibly playing the instant voice mes-
`sage at the selected external recipients.
`According to yet another embodiment ofthe present inven-
`tion, there is provided a method for instant voice messaging
`system over a plurality ofpacket- switched networks enabling
`public switched telephone network (PSTN) support,
`the
`method comprising: providing input audio via a PSTN tele-
`phone connected to a local network; selecting one or more
`external recipients for instant voice messaging at a client, the
`one or more external recipients connected to an external
`network outside the local network; generating an instant
`voice message for the one or more external recipients using
`the input audio provided by the PSTN telephone; transmitting
`the selected recipients and the instant voice message therefor
`over the local network and the external network; receiving the
`selected recipients and the instant voice message therefor at a
`server connected to the external network; delivering the
`instant voice message to the selected recipients from the
`server over the external network; and audibly playing the
`instant voice message at the selected recipients.
`According to still a further embodiment of the present
`invention, there is provided a method for instant voice mes-
`saging system over a plurality of packet-switched networks,
`the method comprising: providing input audio via a voice-
`over-internet-protocol (VoIP) telephone connected to a local
`network; selecting one or more external recipients for instant
`voice messaging at a client, the one or more external recipi-
`ents connected to an external network outside the local net-
`
`work; generating an instant voice message for the one or more
`external recipients using the input audio provided by the VoIP
`telephone; transmitting the selected recipients and the instant
`voice message therefor over the local network and the exter-
`nal network; receiving the selected recipients and the instant
`voice message therefor at a server connected to the external
`network; delivering the instant voice message to the selected
`recipients from the server over the external network; and
`audibly playing the instant voice message at the selected
`recipients.
`According to yet a further embodiment of the present
`invention, there is provided a method for instant voice mes-
`saging over a plurality of a plurality of packet-switched net-
`works, the method comprising: selecting one or more recipi-
`ents connected to a local network at a client connected to an
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`external network; generating an instant voice message for the
`selected recipients at the client; transmitting the selected
`recipients and the instant voice message therefor over the
`external network from the client to an external server system;
`receiving the selected recipients and the instant voice mes-
`sage at the external server system; routing the selected recipi-
`ents and the instant voice mes sage over the external network
`and the local network; receiving the selected recipients and
`the instant voice message therefor at a local server connected
`to the local network; delivering the instant voice message to
`the selected recipients over the local network; audibly playing
`the instant voice message at the selected recipients.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The objects, features and advantages of the present inven-
`tion will become apparent to one skilled in the art, in view of
`the following detailed description taken in combination with
`the attached drawings, in which:
`FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a prior art IP telephony
`system;
`FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary local IVM system for
`enabling instant voice messaging according to the present
`invention;
`FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary IVM client of FIG. 2 for
`enabling instant voice messaging according to the present
`invention;
`FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary IVM server of FIG. 2 for
`enabling instant voice messaging according to the present
`invention;
`FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary global IVM system com-
`prising a local IVM system and global IVM clients, according
`to the present invention;
`FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary global IVM server system
`depicted in FIG. 5, according to the present invention;
`FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary transport server depicted in
`FIG. 6, according to the present invention;
`FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary directory server depicted in
`FIG. 6, according to the present invention; and
`FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary global IVM system com-
`prising a plurality of local IVM systems and global IVM
`clients, according to the present invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention is directed to a system and method
`for enabling local and global instant VoIP messaging over an
`IP network with PSTN support.
`FIG. 2 is an exemplary illustration of a local instant voice
`messaging (IVM) system 200 according to the present inven-
`tion. The instant voice messaging system 200 comprises a
`local IVM server 202 that provides the core functionality for
`enabling instant voice messaging with PSTN support accord-
`ing to the present invention. The architecture ofthe local IVM
`server 202 will be described in detail hereinbelow with ref-
`
`erence to FIG. 4. According to the exemplary IVM system
`200, the local IVM server 202 is enabled to provide instant
`voice messaging to one or more IVM clients 206 and 208, as
`well support instant voice messaging for PSTN legacy tele-
`phones 110. It is noted that although FIG. 2 depicts one of
`each IVM client 206, 208 and legacy telephone 110 for clarity
`and brevity, the local IVM server 202 is enabled to support a
`plurality of each of the foregoing IVM clients 206, 208 and
`legacy telephone 110. The local packet-switched IP network
`204 interconnects the IVM clients 206, 208 and the legacy
`telephone 110 to the local IVM server 202 as well as inter-
`
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`US 8,724,622 B2
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`7
`connecting the local IVM server 202 to the local IP network
`204. The network 204 may be a local area network (LAN), a
`wide area network (WAN), or the like, which supports both
`wired and wireless devices. The exemplary IVM client 208 is
`a VoIP softphone, the architecture of which will be described
`in detail hereinbelow with reference to FIG. 3. A microphone
`212 is connected to the IVM client 208 and enables the
`
`recording ofan instant voice mes sage according to the present
`invention into an audio file 210 for transmission to the local
`
`IVM server 202 over the network 204. An input device 218
`(e. g., a keyboard) is connected to the IVM client 208 to select
`one or more recipients that are to receive the recorded instant
`voice message. Although not depicted in FIG. 2, the input
`device 218 may include a trackball, digitizing pad or mouse,
`or the like. A display device 216 is connected to the IVM
`client 208 to display instant voice messages recorded and/or
`received by a user ofthe IVM client 208.An audio device 214,
`such as external speaker, is connected to the IVM client 208
`to play received instant voice messages. It is noted that the
`microphone 212, audio device 214, display device 216 and
`input device 218 may form integral parts of the IVM client
`208.
`Further with reference to FIG. 2, IVM client 206 is inter-
`connected via the network 204 to the local IVM server 202.
`
`An exemplary IVM client 206 is a VoIP telephone, which
`comprises a screen display (not shown) capable of displaying
`instant voice messages recorded and/or received by a user of
`the IVM client 206 according to the present invention. The
`VoIP telephone 206 further comprises a handset and/or
`speakerphone for recording instant voice messages and lis-
`tening to instant voice messages received at the VoIP tele-
`phone 206 according to the present invention. The VoIP tele-
`phones which may be implemented to provide instant voice
`messaging functionality according to the present invention
`are commercially available from many vendors, including
`AlcatelTM, LucentTM, NECTM and CiscoTM, to namejust a few.
`In addition to the foregoing IVM clients 206, 208, the IVM
`system 200 supports a legacy telephone 110 for instant voice
`messaging according to the present invention. The legacy
`telephone 110 is connected to a legacy switch 112. The legacy
`switch 112 is further connected to a media gateway 114. Both
`the legacy switch 112 and the media gateway 114 intercon-
`nect the legacy telephone 110 via the network 204 to the local
`IVM server 202, thereby facilitating instant voice messaging
`according to the present invention. The media gateway 114
`may be a gateway that supports trunk pack network control
`(i.e., “TPNCP”) protocol, media gateway control protocol
`(i.e., “MGCP”), or a media gateway control H.428 protocol
`(i.e., “MEGACO”) . As previously mentioned, the media gate-
`way 114 converts the audio signal carried over PSTN to
`packets to be transmitted over a packet-switched IP network,
`such as the local network 204.
`
`The implementation of the instant voice messaging for
`IVM client 208 will be described first and will be followed by
`the implementations for IVM client 206 and legacy telephone
`110, with reference to the local IVM system 200 depicted in
`FIG. 2. These implementations implement a “record mode”
`ofthe instant voice messaging according to the present inven-
`tion. There will further be described an “intercom mode” of
`
`the instant voice messaging according to the present inven-
`tion. Therefore, in operation of the IVM client 208 according
`to FIG. 2, the IVM client (IVM softphone) 208 is connected
`over the network 204 to the IVM server 202, which as afore-
`mentioned enables instant voice messaging functionality
`over the network 204. The IVM client 208 displays a list of
`one or more IVM recipients on its display 216, provided and
`stored by the local IVM server 202, as will be particularly
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`de