US 8,712,384 B1Granted

Method and system for triggering message waiting indicator delivery

AssigneeSprint Spectrum L.P.

InventorsAnoop K. Goyal, Bhagwan Khanka, Hemanth Balaji Pawar, Shilpa Kowdley Srinivas

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Abstract

Methods and systems for triggering the delivery of a message waiting indicator (MWI) are introduced. In a wireless communication network, a radio access network (RAN) determines that a wireless communication device (WCD), such as a mobile phone, has missed an incoming call, and responsively: (i) routes the incoming call to a message storage system to enable an originator of the call to leave a message for a user of the WCD, (ii) waits a period of time after routing the incoming call to the message storage system, and (iii) then generates and transmits a message waiting query to the message storage system without prompting from the WCD. In response to the message waiting query, the message storage system may transmit a signal indicative of the message to the RAN. Responsively, the RAN may then transmit to the WCD a message waiting indication (MWI) indicative of the message, for presentation of the MWI to the user of the WCD.

Claims19

Dependent claims

In a radio access network (RAN) that defines at least one wireless coverage area in which the RAN serves at least one wireless communication device (WCD), a method for managing message waiting notification, the method comprising:

the RAN determining that the WCD has missed an incoming call;
in response to determining that the WCD has missed the incoming call, (i) the RAN routing the call to a message storage system to enable an originator of the call to leave a message for a user of the WCD, (ii) in response to (a) the RAN waiting a period of time after routing the call to the message storage system, and (b) the RAN determining that, since routing the call to the message storage system, no message waiting indication (MWI) has been transmitted to the WCD and the WCD has not prompted the RAN to query the message storage system, the RAN generating and transmitting a message waiting query to the message storage system to trigger the message storage system to transmit a signal indicative of the MWI to the WCD;
the RAN receiving from the message storage system, in response to the message waiting query, the signal;
and
in response to receiving the signal, the RAN transmitting to the WCD an MWI indicative of the message, for presentation of the MWI to the user of the WCD.

2 more elements

A system comprising:

a wireless communication device (WCD), capable of receiving an incoming call;
a message storage system containing:
a message storage system central processing unit (CPU);
a message storage system memory to store a message left for a user of the WCD by an originator of the incoming call;
and
machine logic stored in the message storage system memory and executable by the message storage system CPU to (i) receive the incoming call, (ii) record, in the message storage system memory, the message, and (iii) respond to a message waiting query with a signal indicative of a message waiting indication (MWI);
and
a radio access network (RAN) defining at least one wireless coverage area that serves the WCD, wherein the RAN comprises:
a RAN CPU;
a RAN memory;
machine logic stored in the RAN memory and executable by the RAN CPU to:
determine that the WCD has missed the incoming call;
in response to the determining that the WCD has missed the incoming call, (i) route the incoming call to the message storage system, (ii) in response to (a) waiting a period of time after routing the incoming call to the message storage system, and (b) determining that, since routing the incoming call to the message storage system, no MWI has been transmitted to the WCD and the WCD has not prompted the RAN to query the message storage system, generate and transmit the message waiting query to the message storage system to trigger the message storage system to transmit the signal to the WCD;
receive from the message storage system, in response to the message waiting query, the signal indicative of the message;
and
in response to the signal, transmit the MWI to the WCD, for presentation of the MWI to the user of the WCD.

13 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.