191results about "Call diverting means" patented technology

A telephone docking station that combines the operation of a wireless telephone, a cordless telephone, and a land-line telephone interface is taught. The wireless telephone and land-line interface provide telephone resources to the cordless telephone, which functions as a telephone terminal unit. Telephone calls can originate or terminate from either telephone resource. The cordless telephone handset provides for selection and display of the presently connected telephone resource. Caller ID information from both resources are routed to the cordless telephone. The cordless telephone automatically answers the presently ringing resource when is received. A speakerphone and an answering machine are added as alternative telephone terminal units in an illustrative embodiment. A Caller ID preview and hold function is provided so that the user can manage multiple calls from the telephone resources.

A method of forwarding calls directed to a cellular phone to a target phone number based on time-based and location-based trigger events. A call forward profile associated with the cellular phone is defined and stored in memory in the cellular phone, wherein the profile includes call forward criteria and the target phone number. Call forward criteria includes time-based and location-based trigger events. Thereafter, the cellular phone periodically determines the current time and its location and, if the cellular phone determines that the time-based and location-based trigger events for a particular profile are both satisfied, the cellular phone notifies the cellular provider associated with the phone to forward later-received calls to the target number using the cellular provider's own activation and deactivation codes. Notification by the cellular phone to the cellular provider may be set to automatic or only after a prompt to the cellular phone user.

A telephone docking station that combines the operation of a wireless telephone, a cordless telephone, and a land-line telephone interface is taught. The wireless telephone and land-line interface provide telephone resources to the cordless telephone, which functions as a telephone terminal unit. Telephone calls can originate or terminate from either telephone resource. The cordless telephone handset provides for selection and display of the presently connected telephone resource. Caller ID information from both resources are routed to the cordless telephone. The cordless telephone automatically answers the presently ringing resource when is received. A speakerphone and an answering machine are added as alternative telephone terminal units in an illustrative embodiment. A Caller ID preview and hold function is provided so that the user can manage multiple calls from the telephone resources.

A switch device for forwarding an incoming call from a mobile phone to a phone set coupled to a public telecom network, allowing the user to answer the incoming call of the mobile phone by a phone set, is disclosed. The switch device includes a central processing unit, a communication loop switching circuit for establishing a communication loop for the phone set, a relay controllable by the central processing unit, an incoming call detecting circuit for detecting the incoming call of the mobile phone and correspondingly generating an output signal to the central processing unit, an audio signal converting circuit for converting the audio signal carried on the earphone connecting lines and the microphone connecting lines of the mobile phone into an audio signal form adapted to be coupled to the phone set, and a power supplying circuit for supplying a power source to the audio signal converting circuit. The switch device further includes a ring generation circuit for generating a simulating ring signal when the incoming call is detected by the incoming call detecting circuit.

An automated process and system for setting an alert style for a communications device is provided. A scheduling program is used to define one or more activities. The scheduling program may operate on the communication device, or may be operated remotely. An alert style is selected and associated with a particular activity. When an incoming call is received during the activity, the communications device uses the selected alert style. An override condition or rule may also further adjust the alert style used by communications device.

A telephone apparatus connects to a telecommunications network via an exchange line. It has signal recognition for detecting and recognizing calling line identity (CLI) and called number identity (CNI) signalling transmitted over the exchange line. The apparatus causes an incoming call to be transferred to a second exchange line in response to specified CLIs and / or CNIs.

A cordless phone 1 is able to communicate signals 3 via antenna 2 and 3 with transponder unit 5. When the transponder 5 is physically connected (as shown) via multi-way connector 12 to base station 19, the system communicates via PSTN interface 9 and cable 10 connected to local-loop socket 11 within a fixed telephone network. When the transponder 5 is disconnected (not shown) from base station 19, the system communicates via external antenna 6 by radio link with a local base station within a cellular phone network. The base station 19 provides means to recharge the batteries (not shown) of cordless phone 1 via connectors 13 and transponder unit 5 via connectors 14, with dc supply being provided by power plug 16 via cable 17. The transponder unit may include a display screen and PDA electronics (not shown), or, be incorporated within a portable computer (not shown).

Methods and apparatuses for automated configuring of user preferences. In one aspect of the present invention, a method to operate a data processing system, includes: detecting whether or not a portable device is connected to the data processing system; and automatically configuring one or more user preferences of the data processing system according to an identity of the portable device in response to a change in whether or not the portable device is connected to the data processing system. In one aspect of the present invention, call forwarding of at least one of a land line phone and a mobile phone is automatically configured when the mobile phone is brought close to the land line phone or when the mobile phone is taken away from the land line phone.

A virtual private branch exchange is formed by a plurality of interconnected feature server modules, each having an integral feature server that is configured and operates independently of the other feature server modules. Within a virtual private branch exchange, the feature server modules may be logically arranged in a hierarchy having at least a main feature server module and one or more subordinate feature server modules. A particular feature server module may operate in multiple virtual private branch exchanges, and may have a distinct set of rules for handling calls originating in different virtual private branch exchanges.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a mobile station (301) interrogates an RFID tag (305) which may be located on a desk top phone (303), or an advertising billboard, and receives data. The mobile station (301) parses the data to obtain a telephone number, which may be an IP address for VoIP devices. Another portion of the data is interpreted to determine a telephony service to be initiated by the mobile station. The telephony services may be for example, calling a telephone number advertised by the billboard, forwarding future calls to the mobile device to the desk top phone (303), or setting up a three-way call using the desk top phone (303) as one of the participants.

A call center having agent stations comprising telephones connected to computer stations by a Telephone Application Programming Interface (TAPI)-compliant bridge has data pertaining to callers stored in a database on a local area network (LAN) to which the computer stations are also connected. Origination data for incoming calls, both conventional calls to the telephones and computer-simulated calls to the computer platforms, is used as a key to extract data pertaining to calls from the database for display on video display units (VDUs) of the computer workstations where the calls are terminated. In some cases, data is only extracted and displayed for calls from previously listed origination points.

Methods are provided for managing and configuring voice services the notification and disposition of voice services, such as telephone calls, in a cable television services system. In response to receiving a notification of an incoming voice service in the cable television services system, a voice services banner is generated for displaying options for managing the incoming voice service. Options for managing the incoming voice service are selected from the voice services banner. An on-screen user interface is generated for configuring voice services options on a display device in communication with a set-top box. The user interface receives selections for configuring the voice services options. In response to receiving a selection, a determination is made whether to display a menu for configuring the voice services options based on a subscriber profile. If it is determined that the configuration of voice services is authorized, then the menu is displayed for configuring the voice services options.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention utilizing the BLUETOOTH specification Cordless Telephony profile, incoming calls to a cell phone including a Gateway role can be routed to another piconet device (e.g., another cell phone including a Terminal role. Two cell phones with BLUETOOTH capability each include the Cordless Telephony Profile. The cell phone receiving the call acts as a PSTN cordless telephone Gateway cell phone via the cellular network, while the other cell phone acts as a cordless telephone Terminal cell phone. The cordless telephone Terminal cell phone then acts as an extension to the Gateway cell phone allowing both calls to the Gateway cell phone to be answered at the Terminal cell phone, and even allowing calls by the Gateway cell phone to be originated by the Terminal cell phone. Moreover, the present invention includes the ability for any one of a number of authorized Terminal devices (e.g., Terminal cell phone) to answer an incoming call to a Gateway cell phone "on the fly' after hearing the ringing at the Gateway cell phone. Telephone calls may be remotely initiated from the Terminal cell phone via the Gateway cell phone. Inexpensive or featureless Terminal devices can tap into advanced features of more expensive Gateway cell phones, without the need to implement the hardware and / or software for the features themselves in the Terminal device. An authorized terminal list identifies Terminal devices authorized to answer an incoming call to a Gateway cell phone, and may be expanded to include other feature enable / disable configuration. The present invention also provides an interface between devices having differing telephony standards, e.g., between an IS-41 cell phone acting as a Terminal and a GSM cell phone acting as a Gateway cell phone.

A system comprising: a first user device and at least a second user device for a same user, at least one of the first and second user devices being a household media appliance, and each being installed with a respective instance of a communication client application for conducting voice or video calls over a packet-based network. Each instance is associated with a same user identifier identifying said same user, a first of said instances is associated with a first sub-identifier, and a second of said instances is associated with a second sub-identifier. The instances are configured so as, during an ongoing call conducted over a first network connection established based on said user identifier and the first sub-identifier, after the call has been answered, to establish a second network connection based on said user identifier and the second sub-identifier and to switch the call to the second network connection.

In-progress call transfer between a wireless telephone and a wired telephone is effected using a short-range wireless communication link between the devices. Each of the devices are provisioned to include a short-range radio or infrared transceiver so that the devices can communicate with each other over the short-range wireless communication link, preferably using a given short-range wireless protocol. When the wireless telephone's battery is almost exhausted, or for any other reason that the user may desire, the wireless telephone requests the wired telephone's phone number by communicating with wired telephone over the short-range wireless communication link. Upon receipt of the wired telephone's phone number the wireless telephone issues a call transfer request to a cellular base station, passing the wired telephone's phone number. The base station and the network then re-route the call to the wired telephone.

A system and method for automated activation of a call feature having a first (e.g., activated) state and a second (e.g., deactivated) state comprises a fixed device for transmitting an input signal to a portable device including a receiver for receiving the input signal, and a transmitter for transmitting an answerback signal to a receiver in the fixed device. The call feature is placed in the first state when the fixed device receiver fails to receive the answerback signal.

Methods are provided for managing and configuring voice services the notification and disposition of voice services, such as telephone calls, in a cable television services system. In response to receiving a notification of an incoming voice service in the cable television services system, a voice services banner is generated for displaying options for managing the incoming voice service. Options for managing the incoming voice service are selected from the voice services banner. An on-screen user interface is generated for configuring voice services options on a display device in communication with a set-top box. The user interface receives selections for configuring the voice services options. In response to receiving a selection, a determination is made whether to display a menu for configuring the voice services options based on a subscriber profile. If it is determined that the configuration of voice services is authorized, then the menu is displayed for configuring the voice services options.

A network device has a voice mail module adapted to provide voice mail functionality for calls of a first type directed to the network device. The calls of the first type are originally intended for the network device. The voice mail module also provides voice mail functionality for calls of a second type directed to the network device. The calls of the second type are originally intended for one or more other network devices in respect of which the network device has been designated as a backup. In a system having such network devices, voice mail functionality may be provided locally at the network devices. The network devices may be implemented as telephones. In the event that a network device is no longer available on the network, another network device designated as a backup network device takes voice mail messages for the network device that is unavailable. This significantly improves overall system reliability and availability.

An intelligent telephone set is disclosed that includes a caller-ID circuit that extracts a call identifier from an incoming call. A call processing circuit in communication with the caller-ID circuit assigns the incoming call to a caller category associated with the call identifier. Subsequently, it selects a call processing action corresponding to the caller category and processes the incoming call using the selected call processing action. The intelligent telephone set allows users to set criteria for receiving and processing calls based on CID data One such call processing action is to use CID data to forward an incoming call to a predetermined location.

An information system includes a first module and a second module that interoperate over first and second communication ports. Interoperation over the first and second communication ports provides the first module access to functions and features of the second module, and likewise provides the second module access to functions and features of the first module. The first and second modules may be further operable to communicate over first and second networks, respectively.

Systems, methods, and machine-readable media are disclosed to provide redirection of a communication across multiple platforms of potential diverse types. Cross-platform redirection of communications can comprise receiving a request to initiate a communication from an initiating end device. The request can identify an intended recipient device. A plurality of options for handling the communication by the recipient device can be determined. The options can be based on user profile information from a user of the recipient device, user profile information from a user of the initiating device, and / or a set of default options. A notification can be generated to inform the user of the recipient device of the communication. The notification can include an indication of the plurality of options for handling the communication. The notification can then be sent to the recipient device.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention utilizing the BLUETOOTH specification Cordless Telephony profile, incoming calls to a cell phone including a Gateway role can be routed to another piconet device (e.g., another cell phone including a Terminal role. Two cell phones with BLUETOOTH capability each include the Cordless Telephony Profile. The cell phone receiving the call acts as a PSTN cordless telephone Gateway cell phone via the cellular network, while the other cell phone acts as a cordless telephone Terminal cell phone. The cordless telephone Terminal cell phone then acts as an extension to the Gateway cell phone allowing both calls to the Gateway cell phone to be answered at the Terminal cell phone, and even allowing calls by the Gateway cell phone to be originated by the Terminal cell phone. Moreover, the present invention includes the ability for any one of a number of authorized Terminal devices (e.g., Terminal cell phone) to answer an incoming call to a Gateway cell phone ‘on the fly’ after hearing the ringing at the Gateway cell phone.

A communication terminal enabling a control command to be accurately and easily made up. On account of the provision of controller not only for successively displaying predetermined items to allow a user to select and decide desired items but also for displaying the input instruction of a predetermined information type to allow the user to input a predetermined information type, thereby making up a control command on the basis of the relevant selected result and the predetermined information type, a user can accurately and easily make up a control command only by inputting the instructed type of information while successively selecting desired items.

Methods and systems for mobile communications are provided, which provide a hands-free mobile communication when one is driving, particularly without the driver having to take out the mobile terminal and place it in the holder of a hands-free system and connect a cord. The methods and systems for mobile communications can support a plurality of users. The automobile mobile terminal is also used to perform other useful functions.

A cell phone includes a first communication unit configured to communicate with other cell phones via a base station, a second communication unit configured to communicate directly with other cell phones located within a predetermined distance, and a controller, wherein, the controller stores a list including an identifier of a candidate cell phone for a forwarding destination of a connection request signal for requesting a communication connection, and if the controller receives the connection request signal via the first communication unit and then a user does not respond within a predetermined time or if a forwarding instruction is provided from a sender of the connection request signal, the controller conducts a search to see whether another cell phone having an identifier included in the list is located within the predetermined distance via the second communication unit, and if the controller finds the another cell phone having an identifier included in the list, the controller instructs, via the first communication unit, the base station to forward the connection request signal to the another cell phone.

A method of routing telephone calls, emails and faxes using a palmtop computer. Using a date book forming a part of a personal information manager application of a palmtop computer, the user enters an appointment into the date book. Such an appointment has a starting and an ending time. The user then selects (either at the time of entry of the appointment or after receipt of an alarm reminder of the appointment) a destination telephone number for routing of telephone calls between the starting time and the ending time. This selection can be in the form of a menu selection of a predetermined profile for routing telephone calls. The palmtop computer then sends a representation of the destination telephone number, the starting time and the ending time to a telephone call server (and / or email server and / or fax server), so that the telephone call server routes telephone calls to the destination telephone number between the starting time and the ending time.

A personal communications system includes an interface unit which transmits calls received on a mobile wireless phone to one or more hard-wired telephones. In one embodiment, the interface unit includes a connector which mates with a voice communications port of a wireless device, which may be a cell phone, web-enabled phone, personal digital assistant adapted for wireless communications, or a so-called pocket PC. When a call is received by the wireless device, a processor automatically sends the call to a hard-wired telephone through the connector. In another embodiment, the interface unit is equipped to receive multiple wireless devices, and calls from each device are managed to prevent calls from two or more of the devices from being sent to the hard-wired telephone at the same time. This system thereby advantageously allows a use only one telephone number to satisfy all his personal communications needs. This translates into significant cost savings to the user in terms of end-of-the-month bills and increased convenience to all concerned. In another embodiment, a removable recording medium stores information (e.g., a user's telephone number) for activating the wireless communications device to receive or place calls through a wireless service provider. The wireless communications device may be integrated, for example, into a hard-wired telephone, wireless device, an appliance, a television, or a car. In another embodiment, a cell phone is programmed to automatically configure, and re-configure, itself to operate using cell phone numbers of different users.

Methods, systems, and computer program products for bridging mobile phone networks with other telephone networks. A telephone network comprises multiple individually addressable telephone lines connected to telephones and to a gateway, which in turn is connected to one or more mobile phones and potentially to one or more landlines. When the gateway receives an inbound call from one of the mobile phones, or an outbound call from one or the telephones, the gateway applies routing rules to determine how to route the call. Routing may depend on a variety of factors, such as time of day, cost, the mobile phone receiving an inbound call. To help identify the mobile phone as the source of an inbound call, a distinctive ring may be selected. To account for differences in the mobile phone network and the telephone network, the gateway translates signals between the two networks.

A call center having agent stations comprising telephones connected to computer stations by a Telephone Application Programming Interface (TAPI)-compliant bridge has data pertaining to callers stored in a database on a local area network (LAN) to which the computer stations are also connected. Origination data for incoming calls, both conventional calls to the telephones and computer-simulated calls to the computer platforms, is used as a key to extract data pertaining to calls from the database for display on video display units (VDUs) of the computer workstations where the calls are terminated. In some cases, data is only extracted and displayed for calls from previously listed origination points.