Telephone call processing method and apparatus

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DESCRIPTION

Procedure and apparatus for processing telephone calls.

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing personalized multimedia playback telephony services. In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to the provision of pre-answer multimedia playback services, such as ringtones, busy line tones and other types of personalized prompts, such as prerecorded announcements played before the call is answered. The present invention also relates to telephony services that are operational during the course of a call and that offer customers the ability to play multimedia content once the call has been answered, such as call retention tones and custom call forwarding.

Background of the invention

Pre-answer telephony services provide information to the telephone service user before the call is answered. This information can take the form of a dial tone, a busy tone or a prerecorded announcement, all of which serve to indicate to the calling party that the call is being processed. However, the information offered is usually the same for all users of telephone services. Furthermore, such services do not allow the called party to exert any influence on how particular pre-answer telephony services will be presented to calling parties.

International patent application WO-A 03/071820 relates to a method and apparatus for emitting a sound chosen by the called party, instead of a ringtone, to the calling party. When a call is received, the destination exchange requests a link connection with a sound database server, according to a first type of information that indicates whether or not the call tone should be replaced and a second type of information which indicates the path to the sound database server, which is received from a local subscriber record (HLR), and provides a called subscriber identification for the sound database server. The sound database server then searches its database for the sound indicated by the called party and outputs the sound found for the calling party, instead of the conventional ringtone, via the connected destination exchange. through a trunk line. Through this sequential network element procedure, the calling party can hear the sound indicated by the called party instead of a traditional ringtone. However, using a sound database server can be a significant additional cost for the network provider. Also, the selection of ringtones stored in the sound database server is limited.

In the international patent application WO A1 03/005686, a system is described for providing personal audio alert messages (PAAM) to the called party and the calling party during a call connection. As a consequence of a call originated by the calling party, a query may be made to the PAAM database. In response to such a query, one or more PAAM sequences may be received from the database, which can be used to provide PAAM messages to the called party or the calling party. In the case of pre-answer telephony, in order for the system to send PAAM messages to the calling party, it must have a specific network-based pre-answer technology device.

Patent application US-A1-2004 / 081304 refers to a method for generating and transmitting a ringtone and to a system to carry out this task. The procedure for generating a ringtone in a first terminal in accordance with an Internet protocol comprises the identification of the type of network to which a second terminal that requests the call set-up belongs, the generation of ringtone data to transmit to the second terminal according to the type of network, inserting the ringtone data into a call setup response message and transmitting the inserted response message to the second terminal.

In patent application US-B1-6,385,308, a telephone system for the provision of personalized announcements to calling parties is described, in which branded products and services of the system and other types are promoted during the processing of the calls to called parties. A processor coupled to the system comprises a database of designated calling parties who receive personal announcements. A recording medium stored in the processor for each designated calling party defines the parameters of each personalized announcement. A processor responsive call processing means initiates a call from a calling party to a called party according to the calling party parameters defined in the recording means. In one form, a processor controlled audio means plays the personalized announcement to the calling party during the period prior to answering the call or until the call is abandoned or while the line is busy.

It will be desirable to have an improved procedure and apparatus for offering personalized pre-answer telephony services.

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Summary of the invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for offering pre-answer services in a telephony service in which the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is used, the procedure comprising the following steps:

receiving SIP signaling information regarding a first incoming call addressed to a subscriber from a calling party; and initiating playback of a media content item on the calling party while the call is in a pre-answer signaling state, in which the media content item is stored in the subscriber equipment associated with the subscriber, and the Playback originates from the subscriber equipment, characterized in that:

the first incoming call is routed to the subscriber from the calling party via a network-based telephone switching node that is capable of generating default multimedia content to transmit to the calling party before the first incoming call is answered;

the pre-response services are personalized pre-response services, the multimedia content item comprising multimedia content personalized by the subscriber, said personalized multimedia content being different from the default multimedia content; and before the start of playback of the multimedia content item, a SIP signaling message (or *) is transmitted to the network-based telephone switching node, indicating that the personalized multimedia content is to be transmitted from the computer of the subscriber to the calling party before the first incoming call is answered.

Accordingly, the present invention offers pre-answer telephony services that the subscriber can personalize using content stored on their own equipment. This allows the subscriber to give his pre-answer telephony services a personal touch, as he can select an item of multimedia content to play on the calling party. Since the multimedia content is stored on the subscriber's local computer, no additional network resources are needed, such as data storage and data processing media. The only limit to the number and diversity of multimedia content items that the subscriber can use to personalize their telephony services prior to answering is determined by the amount of data memory that the subscriber has locally. This prevents network operators from having to provide these resources, which means that these services can be provided at a lower cost than if all subscribers had to store their multimedia content element in a central location in the network. net. The administration of these pre-response telephony services will thus be greatly simplified for the network operator.

It should be noted that various types of subscriber equipment, such as voice mail systems, interactive voice response (iVr) systems, etc., which are usually closely coupled to the destination equipment of calls, have the ability to play recorded multimedia content, such as voice messages. However, these prior art devices are only designed to play after the incoming call is answered, not before.

Preferably, said received signaling information comprises an incoming call request, and said procedure comprises the steps of transmitting the incoming call request from said subscriber equipment, receiving the call indication in said subscriber equipment as a consequence of the transmission and initiation of said reproduction as a consequence of the reception of said call indication.

Preferably, the method comprises the steps of receiving signaling information related to another incoming call that is to be directed to said subscriber from another calling party and starting the playback of another item of multimedia content on said other calling party before it is answered. to said another incoming call, and wherein said other item of multimedia content is stored on said subscriber equipment and said reproduction of said other item of multimedia content originates from said subscriber equipment. Accordingly, the subscriber can choose different items of multimedia content to play on the different calling parties.

Preferably, the method comprises the step of selecting an item of multimedia content to be played on a calling party, said selection depending on the context related to the incoming call. Therefore, the subscriber can customize a telephony service prior to answering, in such a way that the choice of the multimedia content elements to be played and the calling parties where they are to be played can depend on the context of the call. . This context may comprise, for example, one or more of the following data: the identity of the calling party, the time the incoming call is made, the location of the subscriber and the location of the calling party.

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Preferably, the method comprises the step of terminating the reproduction of an item of multimedia content when said subscriber answers an incoming call. Accordingly, when the subscriber answers a call, the pre-answer service ends and then a two-way telephone call can be made in the usual way.

Preferably, said subscriber equipment comprises a first subscriber device and a second subscriber device, of which said first subscriber device stores said item or items of multimedia content and said second subscriber device is used to answer an incoming call. Preferably, said second subscriber device comprises a telephone connected to said telephone service network, said telephone being constituted, for example, by an analog telephone or a packet switched telephone. Preferably, said first subscriber device comprises a personal computer, a portable computer, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant or an audio reproduction device such as a portable music player.

Preferably, said reproduction of an item of multimedia content comprises ringtone content. If in the course of a telephone call made by the subscriber another call is received, then it is possible to reproduce a busy tone content on the calling party.

The tone content may comprise a music audio content item or a voice prompt content. Consequently, the multimedia contents played at the calling party before the call is answered may comprise music audio content or may comprise a predetermined voice announcement message.

Preferably, the method comprises the steps of receiving an entry from said calling party, in response to said received entry, selecting another item of multimedia content and starting the playback of said other item of multimedia content, and wherein said other item of multimedia content is stored on said subscriber equipment, and in that said reproduction originates from said subscriber equipment. Accordingly, the selection of the played multimedia content can be interactive, depending on the input of the calling party. Preferably, said first user device comprises a graphical user interface (GUI) for managing the elements of multimedia content to be played on the calling parties. Therefore, the management of media content items can be simplified by a user-driven GUI.

Preferably, the playback of a multimedia content item comprises real-time playback of the multimedia content item, for example according to the Real-Time Transfer Protocol (RTP).

Also provided is computer software and apparatus adapted to carry out the process of the present invention.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, a method is offered for providing personalized multimedia playback services in a telephony service in which a first subscriber device located at a subscriber location is used, the telephony service comprises a second subscriber device located at said subscriber location, said second subscriber device comprises telephony functions that allow said second subscriber device to make a telephone call and the second subscriber device exhibits call states controlled by a network-based telephone switching node, said procedure comprising the reception steps of signaling information from said network-based telephone switching node in the first subscriber device, said signaling information indicating the status of the call on said second subscriber device and, in response to receipt of said signaling information, initiation of playback of a multimedia content item, in which said multimedia content item is stored in a multimedia memory associated with said first subscriber device and said reproduction is started in said first subscriber device.

Accordingly, the present invention offers telephony services that the subscriber can personalize using multimedia content stored on the subscriber's home computer. The subscriber can personalize his telephony services, to thereby be able to reproduce different elements of multimedia content for different call states.

Preferably, if said indicated call state is the "calling" state, said reproduction comprises a ringtone content. Therefore, if the second subscriber device is in the "calling" state, a personalized ringtone content can be played on the calling party.

Preferably, if said indicated call state is the "busy" state, said reproduction comprises a busy tone content. Therefore, if the second subscriber device is in the "busy" state, a personalized busy tone content can be played to the calling party.

Preferably, if said indicated call state is the "busy" state (with call waiting indication), said reproduction comprises a line busy tone content (with call waiting indication). Therefore, if the second subscriber device is in the "busy" state (with call waiting indication), a custom busy tone content (with call waiting indication) can be played on the calling party. .

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Preferably, if said call state is the "call hold" state, said reproduction comprises a call hold tone content. Therefore, if the second subscriber device is in the "call hold" state, a personalized "call hold" tone content can be played to the calling party.

Preferably, if said call state is the "call forward" state, said reproduction comprises a forward tone content. Therefore, if the second subscriber device is in the "call forwarding" state, a personalized call forward tone content can be played on the calling party.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a subscriber equipment is offered for use in the provision of services prior to the answer in a telephony service in which the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is used, the equipment being adapted subscriber to store an item of multimedia content, receive SIP signaling information regarding a first incoming call addressed to a subscriber from the calling party and initiate playback of the media content item on the calling party while the call is in the pre-answer signaling state, where the reproduction originates from the subscriber's equipment, characterized in that:

the subscriber equipment is adapted to initiate playback of the multimedia content item when the first incoming call is directed to the subscriber from the calling party by means of a network-based telephone switching node that is capable of generating multimedia content by default for transmit to the calling party before the first incoming call is answered;

the pre-response services are personalized pre-response services, the media content item comprises media content customized by the subscriber, and said personalized media content is different from the default media content; and the subscriber's equipment is adapted to transmit, prior to the start of the playback of the multimedia content item, a SIP signaling message (or *) to the network-based telephone switching node, indicating that the personalized multimedia content it must be transmitted from the subscriber's equipment to the calling party before the first incoming call is answered.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, computer software is offered for use in the provision of pre-answer services in a telephony service in which the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is used, the computer software being adapted to receive SIP signaling information relating to a first incoming call addressed to a subscriber from the calling party and to start playing an item of multimedia content on the calling party while the first incoming call is in the state of pre-response signaling, wherein the multimedia content item is stored in the subscriber equipment associated with the subscriber equipment and the reproduction originates from the subscriber equipment, characterized in that:

computer software is adapted to initiate playback of the multimedia content item when the first incoming call is directed to the subscriber from the calling party by means of a network-based telephone switching node that is capable of generating default multimedia content for transmission to the calling party before the first incoming call is answered;

the pre-response services are personalized pre-response services, the media content item comprises media content customized by the subscriber, and said personalized media content is different from the default media content; and the computer software is adapted to transmit, prior to playback of the multimedia content item, a SIP signaling message (or *) to the network-based telephone switching node, indicating that the personalized multimedia content is to be transmitted from the subscriber's equipment to the calling party before the first incoming call is answered.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, a subscriber equipment is offered for use in the provision of personalized multimedia reproduction services in a telephony service, characterized in that the telephony service comprises a telephony device that has call states controlled by a network-based telephone switching node, and in that said subscriber equipment is adapted to store an item of multimedia content in a multimedia memory associated with said first subscriber device, receiving signaling information from said network-based telephone switching node in said first subscriber device, said information indicating signaling a call state on said telephony device and, in response to said reception of signaling information, start playing a media content item.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, computer software is offered for use in the provision of personalized multimedia playback services in a telephony service in which a first subscriber device is used, characterized in that the telephony service comprises a second subscriber device comprising telephone functions that allow said second subscriber device to make a tele5 call

ES 2 349 724 T3 phonic, the second subscriber device exhibits call states controlled by a network-based telephone switching node, and said computer software is adapted to receive signaling information from said network-based telephone switching node in the first subscriber device, said signaling information indicating a call status on said second subscriber device, and in response to said information reception, start the reproduction of an element of multimedia content that is stored in a multimedia memory associated with said first subscriber device, said reproduction being started in said first subscriber device.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, which is provided by way of example only and refers to the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 is an overall diagram of the system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting signaling and multimedia flows related to the provision of pre-answer telephony services originating from the network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a diagram depicting signaling and multimedia flows related to the provision of personalized pre-answer telephony services originating from the subscriber equipment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is an example GUI screen depicting the default settings of a customizable media streaming service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is an example GUI screen depicting the customization of the default value of a ringtone for a media streaming service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is an example GUI screen depicting a contact entry according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is an example GUI screen depicting custom tone values ​​for a contact entry in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed description of the invention

In figure 1, a global diagram of the system according to an embodiment of the present invention is represented.

The subscriber having access to the present invention has two items of subscriber equipment located at his physical location 10: a first subscriber device and a second subscriber device. The first subscriber device 12 comprises a data processing device which in this embodiment is a personal computer (PC). The first subscriber device 12 has a multimedia memory associated with data storage capacity, for example in the form of a hard disk, and graphic output capacity, for example by means of a monitor. The first subscriber device also executes a software application or applet that participates in the processing of telephone calls to and from the subscriber. The software also allows the subscriber to manage and personalize their telephony service, preferably using a graphical user interface (GUI). Although in the present specification this type of software is going to be called "desktop assistant", it should be noted that the software can take different embodiments and even be part of the operating system of the device in which it works.

The second subscriber device 14 comprises a telephone, such as an analog telephone (also called "black telephone"). The second subscriber device 14 could alternatively comprise a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) telephone or any other type of telephone. Although the description will refer to the analog telephone hereinafter, it should be noted that the present invention may be applied to other situations.

The first subscriber device 12 is connected to a packet-based data network such as the Internet 16. The second subscriber device 14 is connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) 18. The PSTN is connected to the Internet via a multimedia gateway entity (not shown) that performs the conversion between the different protocols of each network. The multimedia gateway is responsible for handling multimedia data for calls, with multimedia data being the data packets that contain the payload of the call (e.g. voice data) rather than the signaling data packets used for control the call. The multimedia gateway typically comprises communication switching equipment and is operative between a packet-based part of the telecommunications network and the PSTN.

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The subscriber's telephone company is responsible for the operation of a Softswitch (software switch) 20 that is connected to the Internet 16 and the PSTN 18. The Softswitch 20 is responsible for the routing of calls to and from the subscriber from the Internet 16 and from the PSTN 18. Softswitches are entities or groupings of entities, also known as Media Gateway Controllers (MGC) and Call Agents (call agents). Softswitches provide the intelligence that controls packet-based telephony services, including the ability to select the processes that can be applied to a call, routing for a call within the network based on signaling information and from a database the ability to transfer call control to another network element, and management functions such as provisioning, fault detection, and billing. Softswitches also provide the architecture to allow conversion between signaling protocols, such as Signaling System Protocol # 7 (SS7) and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T) telecommunications standardization sector specifies Signaling System Protocol No. 7 (SS7) for digital exchanges with integrated services. The SS7 protocol provides an international data network and signaling protocols that control calls that pass through a PSTN. The IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) working group responsible for signaling transport has designed the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) that can be used to direct the transport of packet-based signaling for VoIP calls.

The calling party has an analog telephone 22 connected to the PSTN 18 with which a telephone call can be made to the subscriber. Alternatively, this phone 22 can be any other type of phone, for example an Internet Protocol (IP) phone in which case it can be directly connected to the Internet 16 and the corresponding Softswitch (not shown). Hereinafter the description will refer to the analog telephone.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the subscriber can configure personalized pre-answer telephony services originating from the subscriber's equipment, which will be described later in connection with Figure 3. Before these services are configured, the Pre-answer telephony service is offered as a network originated service, described below in connection with Figure 2.

It should be noted that in Figures 2 and 3 to be described, solid arrows are used to indicate signaling flows, while dashed arrows are used to indicate multimedia flows.

The provision of network-originated pre-answer telephony services for the example of a call to a subscriber initiated by a calling party is described below, with reference to Figure 2, in which the multimedia and communication streams are represented. related signage.

A call request is initiated "f" when the calling party picks up the telephone "a" and dials the telephone number associated with the second subscriber device "e", that is, the subscriber's telephone. A call request “g” is sent from the calling party's telephone “a” to the hardware “b” of the telephone company responsible for the calls. This hardware can be located on the PSTN or on the Internet or connected to these, depending on the type of telephony service to which the calling party has access.

The hardware "b" of the calling party's telephone company then uses a suitable query service to find out where the call should be routed. The consultation service allows the telephone number to be correlated with the telephony hardware or the domain name associated with the telephone service of the calling party (in this case the subscriber).

Using the information obtained from the inquiry service, the call request from the calling party is routed "h" to the hardware of the subscriber's telephone company. In this case, the subscriber's telephone company hardware comprises a Softswitch "c" and the signaling protocol of the switch is the SIP protocol. The signaling flows between the Softswitch "c" and the first user device take the form of SIP messages. The signaling protocol used could also be the Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) or another suitable signaling protocol.

In this example, the signaling flows between the Softswitch “c” and the hardware “b” of the calling party's telephone company cannot be carried out using SIP messages, but using the SS7 protocol or another suitable one. The information related to the SIP messages can be translated or encapsulated in SS7 signals for billing or other tasks, in which it is necessary to know the signaling established through the network.

The Softswitch "c" sends an attempt signal "i" to the calling party's telephone hardware "b" to indicate that the call is being established. The Softswitch "c" sends a call request to the first subscriber device "d" in the form of an invite request message "j". The invite request message "j" contains information about the calling party and the second device of the subscriber "e". In SIP, an invite request message like the one indicated is known as a “100 invite” message.

The Session Description Protocol (SDP) is used to transmit information comprising the type of media involved in the session (in this case a phone call) and the addresses required to receive the media, for example an IP address. The SDP protocol is a session description format and is designed to use

ES 2 349 724 T3 with the different necessary transport protocols. In this example, the SDP information is transmitted using the SIP transport protocol.

When the desktop assistant of the first subscriber device receives the invite request, it sends an invite message “k” to the Softswitch “c”. This invite message "k" contains the same information as the invite message "j", which means that the SDP information of the invite message "j" has been efficiently transferred and unaltered to the Softswitch. In this way, the desktop assistant stays on the pointing path without taking part in the multimedia path.

The Softswitch then sends an incoming call notification signal "l" directly to the second subscriber device "e" using this identification information. When the second subscriber device "e" receives the notification signal, it starts emitting a ringing tone and sends a ringing signal "m" to the Softswitch "c". The Softswitch transmits this information to the desktop assistant of the first subscriber device “d” in a ringing message “n”, and the desk assistant confirms receipt of this information by sending a ringing message “o” to the Softswitch "c". In the SIP protocol, such a call message is called a "180 ringing" message.

Next, the desktop assistant of the first subscriber device "d" properly updates the status of the second subscriber device "e". This can result in a visual change on the display of the first subscriber device indicating to the subscriber the presence of an incoming call. A sound module of the first subscriber equipment "d" can emit another ringing tone, which is added to the ringing tone emitted by the second subscriber device "e".

Once the Softswitch “c” receives the ringing message “o”, it proceeds to transmit the multimedia content data “p” to the calling party's telephone hardware “b”, which is then sent “p” to the telephone from the calling party "a". This multimedia content transmitted (reproduced) can be, for example, the well-known sound of the telephone ringing, which when received by the telephone "a" of the calling party indicates to the latter that the second subscriber device "e" is calling and that it is still this call has not been answered. This played multimedia content is called a ringtone, as it indicates that the called party's phone is calling.

When the subscriber answers the call "w", the second subscriber device "e" sends an answer signal "q" to the Softswitch "c". The Softswitch "c" then sends an OK message "r" to the desktop assistant of the first subscriber device "d", indicating that the subscriber has answered the call. In the SIP protocol, a message such as the one described is called a "200 OK" message.

Next, the desktop assistant of the first subscriber device acknowledges its receipt in an OK message "s" that it sends to the Softswitch "c". This OK message will include new SDP information that indicates that the Softswitch “c” can now accept multimedia content destined for the second subscriber device, and will also include information on the address to which the multimedia content should be sent, that is, the address of the Softswitch that is assigned to the call. The status of the second subscriber device "e" is updated appropriately in the desktop wizard. This may result in another change in the display of the first subscriber device indicating that the call has been answered. The additional ringtone that can be emitted by the sound module of the first subscriber equipment "d" will also be interrupted.

In this example, the signaling path therefore extends from the calling party's telephone "a" to the Softswitch "c" via the hardware of the calling party's telephone company "b" (in this example, located on the PSTN), then to the desktop assistant of the first subscriber device "d" and again to the Softswitch "c" via the Internet and finally to the second device e subscriber "a" via the PSTN and new up to Softswitch “c”. This double setback of the signaling path is known as "tromboning" (traffic diversion).

The Softswitch then knows that the multimedia content in the form of voice data for the call can be routed directly to and from the second subscriber device "e". The Softswitch "c" then sends "t" this information to the hardware "b" of the calling party's telephone company. A bidirectional exchange of multimedia content "x" is then established, in which the voice multimedia content flows from the calling party to the subscriber and vice versa ("u").

During the bidirectional flow of voice media content, the first subscriber device is not on the media path, but remains on the signaling path.

In an alternative situation, the subscriber may already be using the second subscriber device "e" to telephone another person when the calling party tries to call the subscriber. In this case, the second subscriber device "e" sends a busy signal to the Softswitch "c" instead of a ring signal. The multimedia content that the Softswitch sends to the calling party takes the form of the well-known “busy” sound, which once received by the calling party indicates that the subscriber's telephone is currently being used for another call, that is, the telephone of the subscriber is busy. This played multimedia content is called a busy tone, as it indicates that the called party's telephone is currently busy.

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The above description refers to a Softswitch located on the network that emits standard busy and ring tones to calling parties before the call is answered. The multimedia content relating to standard busy and call tones is stored on the network; for example, in the memory available on the Softswitch itself.

Next, the provision of personalized pre-answer telephony services originated in the subscriber's equipment is described for the example of a telephone call to the subscriber initiated by the calling party, with reference to Figure 3 in which the flows are represented corresponding multimedia and signage.

In this case, the multimedia content is stored in the subscriber's local memory located in the first subscriber device, for example on the hard disk of a PC. The stored multimedia content can be stored for example in the Motion Pictures Expert Group Layer 3 format (* .mp3). When media content is to be played, the desktop assistant converts it to a data format suitable for real-time playback, for example, in accordance with the Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP).

Consequently, the subscriber can personalize his telephony services prior to answering and assign the multimedia contents to be played when a call is received. When a particular calling party places a call and before the subscriber answers the call, the multimedia content previously assigned to the call by the subscriber is played on the calling party. Different multimedia content can be played according to the context of the call, depending for example on the identity of the calling party, the time of day, etc. The multimedia content can even be different for the call and busy states of the same calling party.

The subscriber can download the multimedia content via the Internet, the only limit imposed on the multimedia content available for personalization by the subscriber being the amount of local storage space on the subscriber's PC hard drive. Downloading and organizing the multimedia content can be done using the desktop wizard of the first subscriber device, with a GUI to facilitate the procedure.

The procedure begins similarly to the provision of the network-originated pre-response non-personalized services described above. The call request begins "f 'when the calling party picks up the telephone" a "and dials the telephone number associated with the subscriber, that is, that of the second subscriber device" e ". The call request “g” is sent from the calling party's telephone “a” to the hardware “b” of the telephone company responsible for the calls.

As in that case, a query service is used to find out where the call should be routed. Using the information obtained from the consultation service, the call request of the calling party is routed "h" to the Softswitch controlled by the subscriber's telephone company. Softswitch "c" sends the call request to the desktop assistant of the first subscriber device "d" in the form of an invite request "j". Softswitch “c” sends an attempt signal “i” to the calling party's phone company “b” hardware to indicate that the call is being established.

When the desktop assistant of the first subscriber device receives the invite request, it sends an invite message “k” to the Softswitch “c”. This invite message "k" contains the same information as the invite message "j", which means that the SDP information of the invite message "j" has been efficiently transferred and unaltered to the Softswitch. The invite message "k" also indicates, using the Session Description Protocol (SDP), that the Softswitch should not send any multimedia content to the desktop assistant of the first subscriber device.

The Softswitch then sends an incoming call notification signal "1" directly to the second subscriber device "e" using this identification information. When the second subscriber device "e" receives the notification signal, it emits a ringtone and sends a ringtone signal "m" back to the Softswitch "c". The Softswitch "c" then transmits this information to the desktop assistant of the first subscriber device "d" in a ringing message "n". The desktop assistant of the first subscriber device "d" then appropriately updates the status of the second subscriber device. As previously, this can result in a visual change on the display of the first subscriber device informing the subscriber of the presence of an incoming call. Similarly, a sound module of the first subscriber device "d" can emit another ringing tone which is added to the ringing tone emitted from the second subscriber device "e". As before, the signaling path has reversed twice between the Softswitch and the first and second subscriber devices, using a traffic diversion signaling path.

The desktop assistant of the first subscriber device "d", instead of routing a call message to Softswitch "c" as in the previous case, routes an early media message "o" to Softswitch "c". In the SIP protocol, an early media message such as the one indicated is called a “183 early media” message.

The early media message "o *" indicates to the Softswitch that the subscriber has not yet answered "v" to the subscriber's phone. The early media message also indicates, using the SDP protocol, that the Softswitch should not send multimedia content to the desktop assistant of the first subscriber device. The early media message “o *” also indicates to the Softswitch that the desktop assistant of the first subscriber device “d” is going to send multimedia content that must be sent to the phone “a” of the calling party. Next, the first subscriber device "d" proceeds to transmit multimedia content "p" to the telephone of the calling party "a", by means of the Softswitch "c" and the hardware of the telephone of the calling party "b".

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The transmitted (played) multimedia content data, instead of taking the form of the familiar ringing sound, takes the form of personalized multimedia content data "p" by the subscriber for the particular calling party and originates from the assistant desktop of the first subscriber device "d". This played media data consists of a personalized ringtone and may depend on the call context.

When the subscriber answers the call "w", the second subscriber device "e" sends an answer signal "q" to the Softswitch "c". Then, the Softswitch "c" sends an OK message "r" to the desktop assistant of the first subscriber device "d", in which it is indicated that the subscriber has answered the call. In the SIP protocol, this message is called a "200 OK" message.

The desktop assistant of the first subscriber device sends an OK message to the Softswitch "c" to acknowledge receipt of this message. This OK message will include new SDP information that indicates that the Softswitch "c" can now accept multimedia content destined for the second subscriber device. subscriber, and will also include information on the address to which the multimedia content should be sent, that is, the address of the Softswitch that has been assigned to the call.

The status of the second subscriber device "e" is appropriately updated in the application software running on the first subscriber device "d". This may result in another visual change on the display of the first subscriber device indicating that the call has been answered. The other ringing tone emitted by the sound module of the first subscriber device "d" will also be interrupted. The Softswitch “c” sends an OK signal “t” to the hardware “b” of the calling party's telephone company. Next, a bidirectional exchange of multimedia content "x" is established, in which the voice multimedia content flows from the calling party to the subscriber and vice versa "u".

The played multimedia content may comprise a voice prompt content in the form of a pre-recorded voice message. Voice announcement functions are also customizable by the subscriber and can be combined with ringing or busy tone content, for example by subscriber-created layouts. This voice announcement content may be, for example, a message of the "out of office" type, of the "do not disturb" type or a message indicating that the call is to be diverted to the subscriber's mobile phone. The content of the voice announcement can be interactive, such that the calling party can, for example, press the "key 1" to leave a message, press the "key 2" to hear a ringtone while waiting for a call. answer it or press the “3 key” to hear a different ringtone while on hold.

Likewise, the multimedia content played could also change according to the context of the date or time of the call, to offer for example more relaxed ringtones at night.

To avoid the need for a microphone on the first subscriber device to record voice announcement content, the first and second subscriber devices can be used together. The desktop assistant of the first subscriber device can be used to "call" the second subscriber device via the Softswitch and cause it to ring. The subscriber can then answer the "call" and record an announcement by speaking to the second subscriber device having a built-in microphone. The voice message is then transmitted via the Softswitch to the first subscriber device, where it is recorded and stored by the desktop assistant for use as a voice announcement. If the Softswitch is unable to contact the second subscriber device for any reason, either because the second subscriber device is disconnected or the data network is down, the customized multimedia content can be used in a pre-service service. the response originated from the net. For example, this service can consist of the emission of the standard ringing or busy tone or the emission of a limited set of personalized tones from the Softswitch itself.

The description above has focused on personalized pre-response telephony services. The present invention also offers other personalized media playback services, where the media content played is dependent on the call status of the second subscriber device. Therefore, these personalized media streaming services can be offered in pre-answer or post-answer call states.

The Softswitch knows the call status of the second subscriber device, since all signaling originating and ending in the second subscriber device passes through the Softswitch. Consequently, the Softswitch is able to pass this call status information to the first subscriber device. Then, the first subscriber device can start playing the personalized multimedia content depending on the status of the call.

If the second subscriber device is calling, that is, the subscriber has not yet answered the call, the call state is the "calling" state and the first subscriber device receives signaling information indicating this state. In this case, personalized ringtone content can be played to the calling party to indicate to the calling party that the second subscriber device is calling.

If the second subscriber device is currently being used for a call, ie is busy, the call status is "busy" and the first subscriber device receives signaling information indicating

ES 2 349 724 T3 this state. In this case, personalized busy tone content can be played to the calling party to indicate to the calling party that the second subscriber device is busy.

If the second subscriber device is currently being used for a call and another calling party calls and if the called subscriber has the call waiting service active, the call status is the "busy" state (with call waiting indication ) and the first subscriber device receives signaling information indicating this status. In this case, custom busy content (with call waiting indication) can be played to the calling party to indicate to the calling party that the second device is busy, but that the subscriber (or whoever is using the call has been alerted). second subscriber device to make a call) about the incoming of another call.

If the second subscriber device is currently being used for a call, another calling party calls and the subscriber decides to hold one of the parties, the call state is the "call hold" state and the first subscriber device receives information signaling that indicates this status. In this case, personalized call hold content can be played on the party that is on hold to indicate to the party that the second subscriber device is being used to make another call and that the party is being held.

If the second subscriber device is currently being used for a call and the subscriber decides to forward the call, the call state is the "call forwarding" state and the first subscriber device receives signaling information indicating this state. In this case, personalized call forwarding content can be played on the calling party to indicate to the calling party that their call is to be forwarded.

The subscriber can personalize the telephony services, to thereby be able to reproduce different elements of multimedia content in different call states. This customization may be different for different calling parties.

FIG. 4 is an example GUI screen depicting the defaults 40 of a customizable media streaming service in accordance with the present invention. These values ​​are the ones that would apply before the subscriber had customized their services.

As can be seen, the default for dial tone 42 is the standard tone for network 52. The default value for busy tone 44 represented is the standard busy tone for network 54. The default value for tone of Busy (with call waiting indication) 46 displayed is the network standard busy (with call waiting indication) tone 56. The default value of the displayed ringtone 48 is the standard ringtone of the network 58. The default value of the ringback tone 50 represented is the standard tone of the network 60. All these tones are they originate in the Softswitch as a consequence of the reception of signaling information from the second subscriber device.

FIG. 5 is an example GUI screen depicting the customization of the default value of the ringtone 42 for a media streaming service in accordance with the present invention. Many items in Figure 5 are common to those in Figure 4. However, after clicking the mouse or other pointing device on box 52, which refers to the default ringtone, a drop-down menu 52 * appears. The 52 * drop-down menu offers a number of different alternatives that the subscriber can scroll down and press to set their ringtone, for example ring.mp3, ring1.wav, etc., or Browse 52 ** in other locations on the device subscriber. Once the subscriber has set a personalized ringtone, the desktop assistant starts playing the appropriate multimedia content, including converting the stored data format to the playback data format, upon receipt of the appropriate signaling information.

FIG. 6 is an example GUI screen depicting a contact input 70 in accordance with the present invention. This figure represents some examples of information that the subscriber can save for each of his contacts. In this case, the name of contact 72 is "John Smith" 80, his address 74 is "123, A Road, Somewhere" 82 and his phone number 76 is "0123456789" 84. The subscriber can see the personalized tones for John Smith by clicking on the button "See personalizations" 78.

Figure 7 is an example GUI screen depicting custom tone values ​​for the John Smith input 100 in accordance with the present invention. These values ​​will override the default and custom values ​​described above, if John Smith is the calling party.

As can be seen, the custom ringtone 102 for John Smith is “ring.mp3” 112. The custom busy tone 104 for John Smith displayed is “busy.wav” 114. The custom busy tone (with indication of call waiting) 106 for John Smith displayed is “waiting.ra” 116. The call hold tone 108 for John Smith displayed is “holding.flac” 118. The call forward tone 110 for John Smith that is displayed is “transferring.wma” 120. To modify a custom tone, the subscriber can press any of the buttons 112, 114, 116, 118 or 120, after which they can access (not shown) the corresponding file stored on your own subscriber equipment, select and save the desired values. It should be noted that the above embodiments are illustrative examples of the present invention. Other embodiments of the present invention are envisioned.

ES 2 349 724 T3

It is envisaged that the present invention can be applied to the area of ​​mobile telephony and then the second subscriber device, instead of being a fixed line telephone, could be a mobile station. Thus, telephone services may be provided by means of a cellular mobile radio network.

The first and second subscriber devices can be combined at a single end point. The subscriber's equipment may then comprise a VoIP phone associated with a desktop assistant running on a PC. Alternatively, the subscriber's equipment may be integrated into a device, for example a mobile phone with an integrated "mobile assistant".

The data network can be accessed, for example, via a wireless local area network (WLAN), or the data network can be integrated into the telephone signaling network itself.

In the above description, it is indicated that the SIP signaling protocol is used in the present invention. However, the present invention is equally applicable to other packet-based protocols such as the well-known H.323 protocol administered by ITU-T, or the Skype system.^TM. Since Internet protocols are constantly evolving, it is envisioned that the present invention may be compatible with the next and future generations of such protocols.

The played multimedia content should not be limited to audio data, as the present invention can be used to facilitate personalized video playback for people making calls from telephones with video functions.

The data formats for stored media content items can comprise one or more of the following formats or variants thereof:

RealAudio ™ (* .ra, * .ram), Waveform Audio (* .wav), Motion Pictures Expert Group (* .mpeg, * .mp3), Free Lossless Audio Codec (* .flac), Data Transformation Services (*. dts), Windows Media Audio File (* .wma), Advanced Audio coding, (* .aac), Audio Video Interleave file (* .avi), Quick Time Movie File Extension (* .mov), Advanced Streaming Format (*. asf).

The protocols for the played multimedia content may comprise one or more of the following or variants thereof:

Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP), real-time video transfer over RTP (H.261), bitstream over RTP (H.263), RTP Control protocol (RTCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

It should be noted that any feature described in relation to any embodiment can be used individually or in combination with other features described, and can also be used in combination with one or more features of any other embodiment or combination of any other. way of realization. In addition, equivalents or modifications not described may also be employed without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.