US8457144B2 — Communication system

Claim 1

Independent Claim 332 words

A method of controlling a communication session between a user of a communication network and a communication system, wherein the communication network comprises a packet switched network and a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and wherein the communication system operates on the packet switched network, said method comprising: receiving a session request packet associated with the user, from a mobile device, at a first node located in the packet switched network; responsive to receiving the session request packet, determining whether establishing a connection associated with the session request packet should be handled by the first node; responsive to determining that establishing the connection should not be handled by the first node, sending a redirect data packet to the mobile device effective to redirect establishing the connection to another node; responsive to determining that establishing the connection should be handled by the first node, initiating a session for the user utilizing the communication system at the first node, wherein during the session associated with the first node, the method further comprises: providing, from the first node to the mobile device, at least part of a calling identity of an entity for use by the mobile device during a call between the user and the entity via the communication system, wherein the calling identity of the entity is used to establish a connection between the mobile device and a second node located in the PSTN without using the packet switched network; determining an address of the entity; and associating the calling identity of the entity with the address of the entity by enabling mapping of, in a data store in the packet switched network, the calling identity of the entity to the address of the entity; wherein upon termination of the session, the calling identity of the entity is disassociated from the address of the entity by enabling removal of from the data store in the packet switched network, the association of the address of the entity with the calling identity of the entity.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 332 words

A method of controlling a communication session between a user of a communication network and a communication system, wherein the communication network comprises a packet switched network and a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and wherein the communication system operates on the packet switched network, said method comprising: receiving a session request packet associated with the user, from a mobile device, at a first node located in the packet switched network; responsive to receiving the session request packet, determining whether establishing a connection associated with the session request packet should be handled by the first node; responsive to determining that establishing the connection should not be handled by the first node, sending a redirect data packet to the mobile device effective to redirect establishing the connection to another node; responsive to determining that establishing the connection should be handled by the first node, initiating a session for the user utilizing the communication system at the first node, wherein during the session associated with the first node, the method further comprises: providing, from the first node to the mobile device, at least part of a calling identity of an entity for use by the mobile device during a call between the user and the entity via the communication system, wherein the calling identity of the entity is used to establish a connection between the mobile device and a second node located in the PSTN without using the packet switched network; determining an address of the entity; and associating the calling identity of the entity with the address of the entity by enabling mapping of, in a data store in the packet switched network, the calling identity of the entity to the address of the entity; wherein upon termination of the session, the calling identity of the entity is disassociated from the address of the entity by enabling removal of from the data store in the packet switched network, the association of the address of the entity with the calling identity of the entity.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 32 words

A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the calling identity of the entity is associated with the address of the entity at a third node located in the packet switched network.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 26 words

A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the calling identity of the entity is provided to the mobile device in at least one data packet.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 20 words

A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the calling identity of the entity comprises at least a first number.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 29 words

A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the calling identity of the entity is determined from the first number and a contact identifier used to identify the entity.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 34 words

A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the calling identity of the entity is determined from the first number and the contact identifier used to identify the entity according to a call method.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 20 words

A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the call method is dependent on the location of the mobile device.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 20 words

A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the call method is dependent on the type of the mobile device.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 43 words

A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the method further comprises sending, from the first node to the mobile device, a contact identifier data packet comprising a list of identifiers, wherein one of said listed identifiers is used to identify the entity.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 32 words

A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first node is further configured to execute a communication instance configured to communicate with a client program executing on the mobile device.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 33 words

A method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the communication instance is assigned to the user of the mobile device in response to receiving the session request packet from the mobile device.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 32 words

A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein initiating a session for the user with the communication system operating on the packet switched network comprises assigning the communication instance to the user.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 24 words

A method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the redirect data packet further comprises update information for updating software of the client program.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 35 words

A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein the update information comprises a Uniform Resource Locator defining a location in the packet switched network from which updates for the client program are to be downloaded.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 30 words

A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the entity is a user of the communication network, a voice mail record, or an application for carrying out a control command.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 29 words

A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the session is terminated in response to receiving a logout request data packet from the mobile device associated with the user.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 24 words

The method as recited in claim 1 , the first node configured to run a plurality of sessions for a plurality of user devices.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 58 words

The method as recited in claim 1 , the determining whether establishing a connection associated with the session request packet should be handled by the first node comprising determining based, at least in part, on balancing a number of client programs being handled by each session node of a plurality of session nodes in the packet switched network.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 325 words

A communication network arranged to control a communication session between a user of the communication network and a communication system, wherein the communication network comprises a packet switched network and a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and wherein the communication system operates on the packet switched network, the communication network further comprising: a first node located in the packet switched network, the first node configured to: receive a session request packet from a user associated with a user mobile device; responsive to receiving the session request packet, determine whether establishing a connection associated with the session request packet should be handled by the first node; responsive to determining that establishing the connection should not be handled by the first node, send a data packet to the mobile device effective to redirect establishing the connection to another node; responsive to determining that establishing the connection should be handled by the first node, initiate a session for the user associated with the user mobile device utilizing the communication system to a calling identity of an entity for use by the mobile device during a call between the user and the entity via the communication system, wherein the calling identity is used to establish a connection between the mobile device and a second node located in the PSTN network without using the packet switched network; and utilize a third node located in the packet switched network, the third node configured to associate the calling identity of the entity with the address of the entity by mapping, in a data store in the packet switched network, the calling identity of the entity to the address of the entity, wherein upon termination of the session, the third node is further configured to disassociate the calling identity of the entity from the address of the entity by removing from the data store in the packet switched network the association of the address of the entity with calling identity of the entity.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 325 words

A communication network arranged to control a communication session between a user of the communication network and a communication system, wherein the communication network comprises a packet switched network and a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and wherein the communication system operates on the packet switched network, the communication network further comprising: a first node located in the packet switched network, the first node configured to: receive a session request packet from a user associated with a user mobile device; responsive to receiving the session request packet, determine whether establishing a connection associated with the session request packet should be handled by the first node; responsive to determining that establishing the connection should not be handled by the first node, send a data packet to the mobile device effective to redirect establishing the connection to another node; responsive to determining that establishing the connection should be handled by the first node, initiate a session for the user associated with the user mobile device utilizing the communication system to a calling identity of an entity for use by the mobile device during a call between the user and the entity via the communication system, wherein the calling identity is used to establish a connection between the mobile device and a second node located in the PSTN network without using the packet switched network; and utilize a third node located in the packet switched network, the third node configured to associate the calling identity of the entity with the address of the entity by mapping, in a data store in the packet switched network, the calling identity of the entity to the address of the entity, wherein upon termination of the session, the third node is further configured to disassociate the calling identity of the entity from the address of the entity by removing from the data store in the packet switched network the association of the address of the entity with calling identity of the entity.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 102 words

The communication network as recited in claim 19 , the first node further configured to send a data packet to the mobile device in response to determining that establishing the connection should be handled by the first node, the data packet comprising: an attribute configured to indicate a connected state associated with the session; an attribute configured to indicate a latest version number of a client program that is available to run on the mobile device; and an attribute configured to include a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that indicates from where said latest version of the client program is to be downloaded.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2016-06-03	2016-12-03	2017-06-04	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2020-06-03	2020-12-03	2021-06-04	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2024-06-03	2024-12-03	2025-06-04	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Communication system

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