Method and system for supporting the communication of presence information regarding one or more telephony devices

Abstract

A system for detecting and communicating the presence of one or more computing devices is presented. The invention also presents a method and system for aggregating presence information generated by multiple devices associated with a single user. A server acting as a presence agent on behalf of a first user receives and responds to a subscription request generated by a computing device operated by a second user that wishes to be permitted as a watcher of the first user. When the second user corresponds to access preferences specified by the first user, a notify message is sent to the second user's device that includes presence information indicative of an activity level and availability level associated with the first user. When the first user employs multiple computing devices, the server generates an aggregate presence document that is representative of the overall presence of the first user.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A method for enabling the activity and availability of a first computing device on a network to be monitored by a second computing device on the network, the activity representing how active the first computing device is on the network, the availability representing whether or not the first device is available to engage in network telephony with the second device, the method comprising: 
 receiving from the first computing device one or more access preferences indicating which computing devices are permitted to monitor the first computing device;    receiving from the second computing device a request to monitor the first computing device, the request being acknowledged regardless of the first computing device's availability or activity; and    based on the one or more access preferences, and based on the monitored activity and availability of the first computing device, informing the second computing device of the availability and activity of the first computing device.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 storing information obtained from the request message submitted by the second computing device; and  
 submitting the stored information to the first computing device in response to a request message from the first computing device to obtain the stored information.  
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the first computing device determines whether to grant the second computing device access to the presence information.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising receiving and processing one or more procedure calls for initiating the transfer of presence information to a server.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the one or more procedure calls correspond to one or more presence documents indicating the activity and availability of the first computing device.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the step of processing includes determining at least one of the one or more presence documents that indicates a high presence priority setting, the presence priority setting being indicative of the at least one presence document that best reflects the presence of the first computing device.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the step of receiving includes processing the one or more procedure calls for initiating the transfer of the one or more access preferences.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the step of aggregating one or more presence documents received from the first computing device into a single presence document, the single presence document indicating the activity and availability associated with at least one presence document that indicates a high presence priority setting, the single presence document also including presence data associated with the one or more presence documents.  
     
     
         9 . A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps recited in  claim 1 .  
     
     
         10 . A system for conveying presence information about a first user to a second user, the first user having a plurality of computing devices that are capable of generating presence information, the second user having a computing device in communication with a computer network, the system comprising: 
 one or more servers in communication with the computer network and executing programs comprising: 
 a presence agent;  
 an aggregator component; and  
 computer-readable media accessible by the one or more servers and having stored thereon information regarding the second user's desire to monitor the presence of the first user,  
   wherein the presence agent detects which of the plurality of computing devices indicates the highest degree of presence upon the network,    wherein the aggregator component generates an aggregate document representing the degree to which the plurality of computing devices is present upon the network, and    wherein the one or more servers transmit the aggregate presence document to the second user's computing device based on information stored in the computer readable media.    
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the one or more servers execute a registration service for maintaining registration entries associated with the plurality of computing devices.  
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the computer readable media has stored thereon an access control list that is accessible by the presence agent to maintain access preferences of the first user regarding the plurality of computing devices.  
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12  wherein the access control list maintains access preferences set by a network administrator, the access preferences of the network administrator having a higher priority than the access preferences of the first user.  
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the presence agent processes one or more subscription messages received from the second user's computing device, the messages indicating the second user's desire to monitor the presence of the first user over the computer network.  
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the presence agent processes one or more service messages, the service messages specifying one or more procedure calls for updating the presence information maintained by the presence agent regarding the plurality of computing devices.  
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the presence agent processes one or more service messages comprising one or more procedure calls for updating the access control list.  
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the presence agent transmits an acceptance message and a notify message to the second device in response to the one or more subscription requests submitted by the second device.  
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the computer-readable media is accessed by the presence agent in response to a request submitted to the presence agent for the information regarding the second user's desire to monitor the presence of the first user, the request being submitted by at least one of the plurality of computing devices.  
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the aggregator component submits the aggregate document to the presence agent in response to one or more service messages received by the presence agent from the plurality of computing devices.  
     
     
         20  A method for generating an aggregate presence document representing the overall presence of a user, the method comprising: 
 receiving a plurality of presence documents generated by a plurality of computing devices of the user, the presence documents including data representative of an activity level and availability level associated with each of the plurality of computing devices;  
 analyzing the plurality of presence documents to identify at least one presence document that has a high presence priority setting; and  
 generating the aggregate presence document based on the activity level and availability level associated with presence document having the high presence priority setting.  
 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the step of receiving includes processing one or more service messages associated with the plurality of presence documents.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the service messages specify one or more procedure calls for updating the presence information regarding the plurality of computing devices.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the step of receiving includes processing one or more messages for initiating or terminating the registration of one or more of the plurality of computing devices.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the step of analyzing includes summing an availability level and an activity level specified by the at least one presence document, the resulting sum indicating the degree to which the user is present upon the network.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the step of generating includes creating a plain-language description associated with the availability level and including the plain-language description in the aggregate document.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the step of generating includes creating a plain-language description in associated with the availability level and including the plain-language description in the aggregate document.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the user is a first user, the method comprising: transmitting the aggregate presence document to a computing device of a second user in response to changes in the presence information.  
     
     
         28 . A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps recited in  claim 20 .  
     
     
         29 . A method for generating an aggregate presence document based on presence information generated by one or more computing devices, the aggregate presence document specifying the overall presence of the one or more computing devices, the method comprising: 
 receiving a service message generated by at least one of the computing devices, the service message including one or more presence documents and one or more procedure calls for initiating the transfer of presence information to the presence agent, the presence information including data representative of an activity level and availability level associated with each of the one or more computing devices;    analyzing the plurality of presence documents to identify at least one of the presence documents that has a highest presence priority; and    generating the aggregate presence document by including data representative of an activity level and availability level associated with the at least one presence document that has the highest presence priority, the aggregate document also including other presence data obtained from the plurality of presence documents.    
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the step of analyzing includes summing an availability level and an activity level specified by the at least one presence document, the resulting sum indicating the presence priority of the at least one presence document.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the step of generating includes specifying a description attribute in association with the availability level, the description attribute providing a functional description of the availability level.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the step of generating includes specifying a description attribute in association with the activity level, the description attribute providing a functional description of the activity level.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 29  further including the step of submitting the aggregate presence document to one or more computing devices having access to the presence information associated with the plurality of computing devices in response to changes in the presence information.  
     
     
         34 . A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps recited in  claim 29 .  
     
     
         35 . A system for communicating presence information related to a first computing device to a second computing device over a network by a presence agent, the presence agent communicating the presence information in response to a request message submitted by the second computing device, the request message requesting access by the second computing device to the presence information, the system comprising: 
 means for receiving from the first computing device a message having one or more procedure calls for initiating the transfer of presence information to the presence agent;    means for receiving from the first computing device a message having one or more procedure calls for initiating the transfer of access preferences associated with the first computing device to the presence agent;    means for submitting an acceptance message to the second computing device indicating that the second computing device can access the presence information, the acceptance message being submitted regardless of whether the first computing device is present upon the network, and the acceptance message being submitted regardless of the access preferences specified by the first computing device; and    means for submitting a notification message to the second computing device, the notification message including a presence document having data representative of an activity level and availability level associated with the first computing device, the notification message being submitted regardless of whether the first computing device is present upon the network.    
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 35  further comprising: 
 means for storing information obtained from the request message submitted by the second computing device regarding the second user's desire to monitor the presence of the first user,; and  
 means for submitting the stored information to the first computing device in response to a request message from the first computing device to obtain the stored information.  
 
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 35  further comprising means for aggregating one or more presence documents received from the first computing device into a single presence document, the single presence document having data representative of an activity level and availability level associated with at least one presence document that indicates a high presence priority, the single presence document also including presence data associated with the one or more presence documents.  
     
     
         38 . A method for relaying presence information to a subscriber in the absence of a presentity, the presentity operating a presence user agent that generates information indicative of the ability of the presentity to receive calls and indicative of the operating state or tasks in which the presentity is engaged, the method comprising: 
 storing information obtained from a subscriber request message into an accessible memory location, the stored information including one or more values that uniquely identify the subscriber from amongst a plurality of other devices capable of communicating over the network; and    submitting the subscriber information to the presentity when the presentity is no longer absent, wherein the presentity makes a determination whether to grant the subscriber access to the information generated by the presence user agent.    
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38  further comprising submitting the information generated by the presence user agent to the subscriber when a determination is made to grant the subscriber access to the information.  
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39  wherein the step of determining is made according to access preferences assigned by the presentity.  
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 38  wherein the step of submitting includes transmitting a presence document to the subscriber having data indicative of the ability of the presentity to receive calls and indicative of the operating state or tasks in which the presentity is engaged.  
     
     
         42 . A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps recited in  claim 38.