Patent Application
20060050860
1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate in general to telephony, and a context-sensitive apparatus and method to enable users to take advantage of new and existing telephony features.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ever since Alexander Graham Bell invented the first telephone, people have been using the telephone to communicate. With the advent of Intelligent Network (IN) and Next Generation Network (NGN) features, users now have the option of combining additional useful features with their phone service. At one estimate, from Bellcore spec # TR-NWT-000391, over 3,500 different calling features are contemplated. Of these 3,500 possible features, approximately 35 features are available from various phone companies. Often, features are implemented by adding specialized buttons to a telephone (e.g., a “hold” button for call holding), or by pressing a specialized button combination (e.g., pressing “*082” for call blocking).
Of the approximately 35 available features, only a small fraction is actually utilized by the public.
What is needed is an easy-to-use context-sensitive apparatus and method to enable users to take advantage of new and existing telephony features.
Aspects of the present invention include method, apparatus, user-interface, and system to enable users to take advantage of new and existing telephony features. As will be described below, the embodied method may be performed over any communications network as is known in the art. In some embodiments, the embodied method may be performed on an Internet Access Device (IAD) in conjunction with an Intelligent Network (IN) or Next Generation Network (NGN), public switch telephone network (PSTN), plain old telephone service (POTS), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), International Telecommunications Union (ITU) H.323, Real Time Transport Protocol (RTTP), or any Voice Over Internet Protocol standard.
The term “call,” as used herein, may refer to audio (e.g., telephone), video, text (e.g. “instant text messaging” services) and multimedia based messages, or any other packet-based message communication as is known in the art.
Calls are any real-time or near-real-time audio, video, text, and multimedia-based message transmissions that take place over a network. Calls may further include any “on-line” message transmissions. Examples of such transmissions include, but are not limited to, any user-to-user or user-to-multi-user communication that involves the electronic conveying of digital-packet messages. An example of such a call includes a electronic text “chat” or “talk” messaging, electronic-mail, video-conferencing, internet telephony (“voice over internet protocol”), or instant text messaging.
Call features are any functions related to calls, as are known in the art. Such call features may include, but are not limited to: call conferencing, call rejection, placing calls on hold, call waiting, call forwarding, remote call forwarding, selective call forwarding, 3-way calling, speed dialing variations, calling number delivery, calling number block, private line, 170. Examples of other devices include, but are not limited to, servers, computers, workstations, terminals, input devices, output devices, printers, plotters, routers, bridges, cameras, sensors, or any other such device known in the art.
Network 10 may be any communication network known in the art, including a conventional telephone network, the Internet, a local-area-network (LAN), a wide-area-network (WAN), or any system that links a internet access device 120 to a telephone 10. Further, network 110 may be of configured in accordance with any topology known in the art, including star, ring, bus, or any combination thereof.
Internet access device 120 is coupled to a telephone network 110 that supports the receipt and transmission of digital packets. Telephone network server 150 may be configured to allow different networks to communicate, as well as communicate with a public switch telephone network, plain old telephone service, Integrated Services Digital Network, Session Initiation Protocol, International Telecommunications Union (ITU) H.323, Real Time Transport Protocol, any Voice Over Internet Protocol standard, or any other telephone network. In some system embodiments, a internet access device 120 may obviate the use of internet access devices 120 by conference call participants.
Furthermore, as shown in
Embodiments will now be disclosed with reference to a functional act diagram of an exemplary internet access device 120 of
The software for programming the processor 102 may be found at a computer-readable storage medium 140 or, alternatively, from another location across network 110. Processor 102 is coupled to computer memory 104. Internet access device 120 may be controlled by an operating system (OS) that is executed within computer memory 104.
Processor 102 communicates with a plurality of peripheral equipment, including telephone network interface 116. Additional peripheral equipment may include a display 106, manual input device 108, storage medium 140, microphone 112, video input 122, and data port 114.
Display 106 may be a visual display such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor, a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, touch-sensitive screen, or other monitors as are known in the art for visually displaying images and text to a user.
Manual input device 108 may be a conventional keyboard, keypad, mouse, trackball, or other input device as is known in the art for the manual input of data.
Storage medium 140 may be a conventional read/write memory such as a magnetic disk drive, floppy disk drive, compact-disk read-only-memory (CD-ROM) drive, transistor-based memory or other computer-readable memory device as is known in the art for storing and retrieving data. Significantly, storage medium 140 may be remotely located from processor 102, and be coupled to processor 102 via a network 110 such as a local area network, a wide area network, or the Internet.
Microphone 112 may be any suitable microphone as is known in the art for providing audio signals to processor 102. In addition, a speaker 118 may be attached for reproducing audio signals from processor 102. Video input 122 may be a digital or analog video camera device to record still or moving images. In some embodiments, video input 122 may be a scanner device. It is understood that microphone 112, speaker 118, and video input 122 may include appropriate digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital conversion circuitry as appropriate.
Data port 114 may be any data port as is known in the art for interfacing with an external accessory using a data protocol such as RS-232, Universal Serial Bus (USB), or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard No. 1394 (‘Firewire’). In some embodiments, data port 114 may be any interface as known in the art for communicating or transferring files across a computer network, examples of such networks include Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Ethernet, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), token bus, or token ring networks. In addition, on some systems, data port 114 may consist of a modem coupled to telephone network interface 116. Similarly, telephone network interface 116 provides connectivity enabling internet access device 120 to communicate with a telephone network 150. Thus, the telephone network interface 116 allows the internet access device 120 to communicate and process input and output from a telephone line.
Data processor 202 interfaces with display 106, manual input device 108, storage medium 140, microphone 112, data port 114, video input 122, memory 104, speakers 118, and telephone network interface 116. The data processor 202 enables central processing unit 102 to locate data on, read data from, and write data to these components.
Application interface 204 enables processor 102 to take some action with respect to a separate software application or entity. For example, application interface 204 may take the form of a windowing user interface, as is commonly known in the art.
Media interface 200 is a user call interface. In some embodiments, the media interface 200 may be a stand-alone program, or a web-browser window. An example of such a media interface window is shown in
In some embodiments, main frame 420 displays a picture of the current caller retrieved from a caller database 244. In such embodiments, using the mouse pointer 418, users may either click control buttons 416A-G, or “drag-and-drop” callers listed in the phone list frame 410, or pictures of the caller in the main frame 420 to control buttons 416A-G in the control frame 414. Users may similarly interact with features listed in status frame 412. In some embodiments, status frame 412 lists features available depending upon the context or internet access device's state of operation. Media interface 200 then selects the appropriate structure to execute the functionality specified by the control button 416.
Returning to
Conference call manager 212 allows media interface to 200 communicate with multiple parties in a conference call. In addition, conference call manager 212 determines which parties receive communication packets, and the communication packets received. For example, suppose parties A, B, and C are participating in a conference call with internet access device 120D. The conference call manager 212 routes signals from internet access device 120D to parties. A, B, and C.
Audio/video call processor 214 allows media interface 200 to utilize video input 122, microphone 112, speaker 118 and display 106 for audio or multimedia-video-based calls.
Electronic mail notification generator 216 allows media interface 200 to communicate through text-based messaging systems, such as electronic mail or, in some embodiments, instant-messaging programs.
Voicemail manager 218 communicates with media interface 200 and stores messages in a voicemail database 242.
Call state monitor 220 determines the current state of operation of the internet access device 120. In some embodiments, the state may be defined by the functionality being processed by the internet access device 120. In other embodiments, the state may be defined by the context in which an operation takes place.
The telephony wizard 222 determines the options, features, and related messages available for display, depending upon the state determined by call state monitor 220. A list of these options, features, and related messages may be stored as telephony documentation 246. In some embodiments, telephony documentation may be a database or a text file. In other embodiments, telephony documentation may also include the relevant software code to enable hardware, firmware, or software-encoded instructions to execute the state-related features. Related messages may include help information, instructions on how to enable features, or relevant downloaded messages. An example of a relevant message may be a downloaded or previously existing advertisement or notice related to enabling a call feature. In some embodiments, the relevant message may include star code information, such as prompting the use of a “*-number-number” combination to activate a telephone feature. In other embodiments, the telephony documentation may include computer software code to automatically dial the star code to implement the desired feature. When new features, such as “parking calls,” “call tunneling” or “three-way-calling” are added by a carrier, telephony wizard 222 may determine that these feature options should be prominently displayed by media interface 220.
These components of call handler 210 interact with a voicemail database 242, known caller database 244, and telephony documentation 246, and may best be understood with respect to the example embodiments of
Embodiments will now be disclosed using examples example embodiments of internet access devices 120. It is understood that these examples, which are used for illustrative purposes only, in no way limit available implementations or types of states available.
The idle state 710 is the state when the internet access device 120 is neither participating in a call nor attempting to connect a call. When the idle state 710 is detected by the call state monitor 220, telephony wizard 222 displays telephony documentation 246 pertaining to the idle state 710, block 712.
The dialing state 720 is when the internet access device 120 is attempting to contact a call recipient, i.e. attempting to connect a call. When the dialing state 720 is detected by the call state monitor 220, telephony wizard 222 displays telephony documentation 246 pertaining to the dialing state 720, block 722.
The active state 730 is when the internet access device 120 is active in a call. When the active state 730 is detected by the call state monitor 220, telephony wizard 222 displays telephony documentation 246 pertaining to the active state 730, block 732.
In state embodiment 700B, internet access device 120 has multiple states in addition to idle 710, dialing 720, and active 730. As shown in
For the sake of simplicity, embodiments will now be described utilizing only three states, the idle 710, dialing 720, and active 730 states of
Each figure illustrates an enhanced “caller ID” box embodiment of the internet access device 120 operating in one of three states, the idle 710, dialing 720, and active 730 states.
At act 802, call state monitor 220 determines the current call state of internet access device 120. The determination of the call state may depend upon the type of internet access device 120 embodiment. Internet access devices 120 that place calls determine their own state. Internet access devices 120 that facilitate the calls of other devices, such as a caller D box embodiment, determine the call state of an attached telephone.
At decision act 804, process flow is routed depending upon the previously determined state. For simplicity's sake, only three states are shown, however, as discussed above any number of states can be added.
If the internet access device 120 is operating in the idle 710 state, as determined by decision act 804, flow continues at act 806. When the phone is idle, telephony wizard 222 displays telephony documentation 246 relevant to the idle state 710 at display 106. The telephony documentation 246 illustrates the features available to the phone user while the phone is idle 710. In some embodiments, advertisements or reminders may also be displayed. For example, the telephony documentation may display help documentation on placing or forwarding calls, a phone list enabling returning a phone call, or a reminder for users to call their mother. The reminder or other advertisements related to new and existing calling features may be retrieved and displayed depending upon the call state. Flow continues at act 818 on
If the internet access device 120 is operating in the dialing 720 state, as determined by decision act 804, flow continues at act 808. While the phone is dialing, the internet access device 120 is in the dialing 720 state, and telephony wizard 222 displays features available while the phone is dialing, or telephony documentation 246 information on how to utilize such features. Flow continues at act 818 on
If the internet access device 120 is operating in the active 730 state, as determined by decision act 804, flow continues at act 810. In embodiments that use packet-switched communications, internet access device 120 communicates with a central location, such as telephony wizard server 135, to receive update telephony documentation 246 with an updated list of new features and special offers, and removing any expired telephony documentation 246. Telephony wizard server 135 may be any device that sends an internet access device 120 new telephony documentation 246. If any updates are found at act 812, the telephony documentation 246 is updated, at act 814, and the telephony wizard 222 displays the active 730 state telephony documentation 246, act 816. Flow continues at act 818 on
Moving to
At decision act 822, call state monitor 220 determines whether a state change has occurred as a result of the execution of the new feature, and the process 800 either ends or restarts.
At act 802, call state monitor 220 determines the current call state of internet access device 120. The determination of the call state may depend upon the type of internet access device 120 embodiment. Internet access devices 120 that place calls determine their own state. Internet access devices 120 that facilitate the calls of other devices, such as a caller ID box embodiment, determine the call state of an attached telephone.
At decision act 804, process flow is routed depending upon the previously determined state. For simplicity's sake, only three states are shown, however, as discussed above any number of states can be added.
If the internet access device 120 is operating in the idle 710 state, as determined by decision act 804, flow continues at act 806. When the phone is idle, telephony wizard 222 displays telephony documentation 246 relevant to the idle state 710 at display 106. The telephony documentation 246 illustrates the features available to the phone user while the phone is idle 710. In some embodiments, advertisements or reminders may also be displayed. For example, the telephony documentation may display help documentation on placing or forwarding calls, a phone list enabling returning a phone call, or a reminder for users to call their mother, is displayed. The reminder or other advertisements related to new and existing calling features may be retrieved and displayed depending upon the call state. Flow continues at act 818.
If the internet access device 120 is operating in the dialing 720 state, as determined by decision act 804, flow continues at act 808. While the phone is dialing, the internet access device 120 is in the dialing 720 state, and telephony wizard 222 displays features available while the phone is dialing, or telephony documentation 246 information on how to utilize such features. Flow continues at act 818.
If the internet access device 120 is operating in the active 730 state, as determined by decision act 804, flow continues at act 816. The telephony wizard 222 displays the active 730 state telephony documentation 246, act 816. Flow continues at act 818.
At act 818, internet access device 120 determines whether it has received an input request from the user. If so, either the associated feature instructions from the telephony documentation are shown, or the feature is executed at act 820.
At decision act-822, call state monitor 220 determines whether a state change has occurred as a result of the execution of the new feature, and the process 900 either ends or restarts.
The previous description of the embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention. The various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without the use of inventive faculty. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 09930054 | Aug 2001 | US |
| Child | 11220973 | Sep 2005 | US |
