Apparatus, and associated method, for completing a call to a packet-network, telephonic station

Abstract

Apparatus, and an associated method, for facilitating a call to a packet-network, telephonic station, such as an SIP phone. The call is originated at a originating station formed of a telephonic station of a time-domain-multiplexing network. A call establishment creator is embodied at a media server forming a portion of the packet data network. A call, originated at the originating station, is routed to the call establishment creator. Once the call is routed thereto, an interactive session is formed between the media server and the originating station. During the interactive session, the information needed to ascertain the identity of the terminating station is ascertained, and the call is routed thereto.

1 . In a telephone communication system having a packet-data network and a time domain multiplexing network, time-domain-multiplexing telephonic stations of the time domain multiplexing network identified pursuant to a first selected numbering plan and packet-based telephonic stations of the packet data network identified by an other-than-first-selected numbering plan, an improvement of an assembly for facilitating placement of a call originated at an originating telephonic station of the time-domain-multiplexing telephonic station for completion at a terminating telephonic station of the packet-based telephonic stations, said assembly comprising: 
 a session establishment creator positioned at the packet-based network and coupled to receive indications of originating telephonic station, the origination of the call effectuated through entry at the originating telephonic station of a selected identification sequence defined pursuant to the first selected numbering plan, said session establishment creator for creating a session permitting communication therefrom with the originating telephonic station and for detecting entry by the originating telephonic station of an identifier that identifies the termination station, the identifier used by said session establishment creator to complete the call with the terminating telephonic station    an index database in which an IP address associated with the terminating telephonic station is indexed together with a mnemonic associated therewith and wherein the identifier entered by the originating telephonic station comprises a representation of the mnemonic.    
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising a detector positioned at the packet-based network, said detector for detecting the origination of the call by the originating telephonic station and wherein the indications of the origination of the call to which said session establishment creator is coupled to receive are formed by said detector.  
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein the packet-based network comprises an application server and wherein said detector is embodied at the application server.  
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 3  wherein the packet-based network further comprises at least a first media server and wherein said session establishment creator is embodied at the at least the first media server.  
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 4  wherein the at least the first media server comprises the first media server and at least a second media server, and wherein said session establishment creator is embodied at a selected one of the first and at least second media servers.  
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 5  wherein said detector embodied at the application server is further for selecting at which of the first and at least second media servers that the session establishment creator is to be embodied.  
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein the communication system comprises a media gateway positioned to interconnect the packet-based telephonic network and the time domain multiplexing network and wherein the call originated at the originating telephonic station is routed to said detector by way of the media gateway.  
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the communication system comprises a media gateway positioned to interconnect the packet-based telephonic network and the time domain multiplexing network and wherein indications of the call originated at the originating telephonic station are provided by the media gateway to said session establishment creator.  
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 8  wherein the media gateway is identified by an identifier conforming to the first selected numbering plan and wherein the indications of the origination of the call are provided to said session establishment creator subsequent to delivery of the call origination at the media gateway.  
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 9  wherein the packet-based telephonic network comprises an IP network that utilizes IP protocol nomenclature and wherein the identifier entered by the originating telephonic station subsequent to creation of the session between said session establishment creator and the originating telephonic station comprises an IP address associated with the terminating telephonic station.  
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the entry by the originating telephonic station of the identifier comprises a voice entry and wherein said session establishment creator searches the index database subsequent to conversion of the voice entry into text form.  
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said session establishment creator causes the index database to be searched to locate the IP address associated with the mnemonic of which the representation thereof is received by said session establishment creator during the session formed with the originating telephonic station.  
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 12  wherein said session establishment creator further comprises a voice-to-text converter, wherein the entry by the originating telephonic station of the identifier comprises a voice entry and wherein said session establishment creator searches the index database subsequent to conversion of the voice entry into text form.  
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein a user identity is associated with the terminating telephonic station and wherein the mnemonic is imitative of the user identity.  
   
   
       15 . A method for facilitating placement of a call originated at an originating telephonic station of a time-domain-multiplexing network for completion at a terminating telephonic station of the packet-based telephonic network, said method comprising: 
 originating a call with a selected identification sequence defined pursuant to a first numbering plan;    detecting indications representative of the selected identification sequence for requesting termination with a telephonic station of the packet-based telephonic network;    sending an identifier from the originating telephonic station, the identifier being a mnemonic associated with the packet-based telephonic station;    representative of an IP address identifying the terminating telephonic station;    maintaining a database including the mnemonic indexed together with an IP address of the terminating packet-based telephonic station; and    completing the call to the terminating packet-based telephonic station based on the IP address.    
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the identification sequence defined pursuant to the first selected numbering plan during said operation of originating comprises a number formatted pursuant to a North American Numbering Plan.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 15  wherein a media gateway interconnects the packet-based network and the time domain multiplexing network, said method further comprising the operation of routing the call originated during said operation through the media gateway.