# US 10,320,856 B2 · Managing access to communication sessions with communication identifiers of users and using chat applications > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,320,856 B2 - Document ID: US10320856B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/286,755 - Filed: 2016-10-06 - Published: 2018-04-12 - Granted: 2019-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2016-10-06 - Assignees: Cisco Technology, Inc. - Applicants: Cisco Technology, Inc. - Inventors: Jonathan Rosenberg; Patrick C. Linskey; Brenno A. Cantelli; Jeffrey S. Jones - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10320856B2 ## CPC - H04L 65/1093: by adding participants; by removing participants - H04L 51/04: Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM] - H04L 61/4555: {Directories for electronic mail or instant messaging} - H04L 63/101: {Access control lists [ACL]} - H04L 63/102: {Entity profiles} - H04L 65/1073: Registration or de-registration - H04L 65/403: Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences (data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15) - H04L 67/141: Setup of application sessions (admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70) - H04L 67/146: Markers for unambiguous identification of a particular session, e.g. session cookie or URL-encoding - H04L 67/02: based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP] - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract A server is configured to provide a service that manages access to communication sessions supported by at least one communication service and to which user devices connect. The service assigns to users registered with the service respective communication identifiers that the users, and unregistered users of the service, use to access the communication sessions via user devices. The service maps each communication identifier to a list of communication sessions, if any, in which the respective user is currently participating and/or is scheduled to participate. The service receives from a user device a join request from a requester. The join request indicates a particular communication identifier of a particular user registered with the service and a requester identifier. The service connects the user device to a communication session, if any, based on the particular communication identifier and the requester identifier. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer-implemented method comprising: at a server configured to provide a service that manages access to communication sessions supported by at least one communication service and to which user devices connect: assigning to users registered with the service respective communication identifiers that each indicate a respective user identifier of a user registered with the service and that the users and unregistered users of the service use to access the communication sessions via user devices; mapping each communication identifier to a list of communication sessions, if any, in which the respective user is currently participating and/or is scheduled to participate; receiving from a user device a join request from a requester, the join request indicating a particular communication identifier of a particular user registered with the service and a requester identifier; examining the list of communication sessions mapped to the particular communication identifier, and comparing the requester identifier to a particular user identifier indicated by the particular communication identifier; and based on the examining and the comparing, connecting the user device to a communication session, if any, based on the particular communication identifier and the requester identifier. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one communication service includes a voice call service configured to support voice calls and a web-based meeting service that supports web-based meetings. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the requester identifier and the particular user identifier are email addresses. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein if the list of communication sessions is empty and the requester identifier matches the particular user identifier, further comprising creating a new communication session with the at least one communication service, and wherein connecting comprises connecting the user device to the new communication session. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein if the list of communication sessions is empty and the requester identifier does not match the particular user identifier, further comprising: presenting a prompt at a user device that is associated with the particular user, wherein the prompt is configured to seek approval of the join request; and upon receiving approval of the join request: creating a new communication session; and connecting the user device to the new communication session. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein: if the list of communication sessions includes only one communication session and the requester identifier matches the particular user identifier, the connecting includes connecting the user device to the communication session; and if the list includes only one communication session and the requester identifier does not match the particular user identifier, the connecting includes: accessing a list of invitees to the only one communication session; comparing the requester identifier against the list of invitees; and if the requester identifier is on the list of invitees, connecting the user device to the communication session. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein if the list of communication sessions includes multiple communication sessions, the connecting includes: accessing for each communication session a respective list of invitees to the communication session, if available; comparing the requester identifier against each accessed list of invitees; if the requester identifier is only on one list of invitees, connecting the user device to the communication session associated with the one list of invitees. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein if the list of communication sessions includes multiple communication sessions and the requester identifier is on multiple accessed lists of invitees, the connecting includes: presenting a prompt at the user device as to which communication session among the multiple communication sessions the requester wishes to join; receiving from the user device a reply indicating a particular communication session among the multiple communication sessions; and responsive to the reply, connecting the user device to the particular communication session. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein if the list of communication sessions includes multiple communication sessions and the requester identifier is not on any accessed list of invitees, further comprising: presenting a prompt at a user device that is associated with the particular user, the prompt configured to seek selection of one of the multiple communication sessions; upon receiving a reply that indicates a selected one of the multiple communication sessions, connecting the user device to the selected one of the multiple communication sessions. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising, at the server: receiving from the at least one communication service first information indicating the communication sessions in which the users are participating; and receiving from a calendar service second information indicating communication sessions in which the users are scheduled to participate and invitees to the communication sessions in which the users are scheduled to participate, wherein the mapping includes mapping each communication identifier to the respective list of communication sessions and associated invitees based on the received first information and second information. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein: the at least one communication service includes a voice call service configured to support voice calls and a web-based meeting service that supports web-based meetings; and the mapping includes mapping each communication identifier to the respective list of communication sessions including voice calls and web-based meetings. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein each communications identifier comprises a Uniform Resource Locator that points to the server and that indicates an identifier for the user to which the communication identifier is assigned. ### Claim 13 An apparatus comprising: a network interface unit to communicate with a network; and a processor coupled to the network interface unit and configured to provide a service that manages access to communication sessions supported by at least one communication service and to which user devices connect, wherein the processor is configured to: assign to users registered with the service respective communication identifiers that each indicate a respective user identifier of a user registered with the service and that the users and unregistered users of the service use to access the communication sessions via user devices; map each communication identifier to a list of communication sessions, if any, in which the respective user is currently participating and/or is scheduled to participate; receive from a user device a join request from a requester, the join request indicating a particular communication identifier of a particular user registered with the service and a requester identifier; examine the list of communication sessions mapped to the particular communication identifier, and compare the requester identifier to a particular user identifier indicated by the particular communication identifier; and based on results of the examine and the compare operations, connect the user device to a communication session, if any, based on the particular communication identifier and the requester identifier. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the requester identifier and the particular user identifier are email addresses. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configure to: if the list of communication sessions is empty and the requester identifier matches the particular user identifier, create a new communication session with the at least one communication service, and wherein the processor is further configured to connect by connecting the user device to the new communication session. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to: if the list of communication sessions is empty and the requester identifier does not match the particular user identifier: present a prompt at a user device that is associated with the particular user, wherein the prompt is configured to seek approval of the join request; and upon receiving approval of the join request: create a new communication session; and connect the user device to the new communication session. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to: if the list of communication sessions includes only one communication session and the requester identifier matches the particular user identifier, connect the user device to the communication session; and if the list includes only one communication session and the requester identifier does not match the particular user identifier: access a list of invitees to the only one communication session; compare the requester identifier against the list of invitees; and if the requester identifier is on the list of invitees, connect the user device to the communication session. ### Claim 18 (depends on 13) The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to: if the list of communication sessions includes multiple communication sessions: access for each communication session a respective list of invitees to the communication session, if available; compare the requester identifier against each accessed list of invitees; if the requester identifier is only on one list of invitees, connect the user device to the communication session associated with the one list of invitees. ### Claim 19 (depends on 13) The apparatus of claim 13, wherein: the at least one communication service includes a voice call service configured to support voice calls and a web-based meeting service that supports web-based meetings; and the processor is configured to map by mapping each communication identifier to the respective list of communication sessions including voice calls and web-based meetings. ### Claim 20 A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer usable instructions stored thereon for execution by a processor, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to provide a service that manages access to communication sessions supported by at least one communication service and to which user devices connect, wherein the instructions to cause the processor to provide the service include instructions to cause the processor to: assign to users registered with the service respective communication identifiers that the users and unregistered users of the service use to access the communication sessions via user devices; receive from the at least one communication service first information indicating the communication sessions in which the users are participating, and receive from a calendar service second information indicating communication sessions in which the users are scheduled to participate and invitees to the communication sessions in which the users are scheduled to participate map each communication identifier to a list of communication sessions, if any, in which the respective user is currently participating and/or is scheduled to participate and associated invitees based on the received first information and second information; receive from a user device a join request from a requester, the join request indicating a particular communication identifier of a particular user registered with the service and a requester identifier; and connect the user device to a communication session, if any, based on the particular communication identifier and the requester identifier. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein each communication identifier indicates a respective user identifier of a user registered with the service, and the instructions further comprise instructions to cause the processor to: examine the list of communication sessions mapped to the particular communication identifier; and compare the requester identifier to a particular user identifier indicated by the particular communication identifier, wherein the instructions to cause the processor to connect includes instructions to cause the processor to connect the user device to the communication session based on results of the examine and the compare operations. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the requester identifier and the particular user identifier are email addresses. ### Claim 23 (depends on 20) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein: the at least one communication service includes a voice call service configured to support voice calls and a web-based meeting service that supports web-based meetings; and the instruction to cause the processor to map include instructions to cause the processor to map each communication identifier to the respective list of communication sessions including voice calls and web-based meetings.