Telephonic communications – Special services – Locating using diverse technology
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-12
2001-03-27
Matar, Ahmad (Department: 2742)
Telephonic communications
Special services
Locating using diverse technology
C379S157000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06208725
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to the control of telephone station controlled services from a location away from the controlled telephone.
PROBLEM
Modern telephone stations provide a large number of sophisticated telephone services usually invoked through the pressing of one or more buttons on the telephone station with feedback to the user provided by lamps and displays at the telephone station. Such telephone stations are frequently connected to a computer, such as a personal computer which can effectively push buttons of the controlled telephone station, and receive lamp indications and display information from the telephone station. Thus, these telephone stations are frequently controlled by users from a computer as well as being controllable by pushing the buttons of the telephone station.
SOLUTION
Applicant has recognized that a problem of the prior art is that while these telephone stations are controllable from a directly connected computer, there is no satisfactory way of controlling these stations from a remote, or otherwise separated location. For example, a user may have initiated call forwarding to forward calls to the user's home when the user leaves the office at the end of the day; however, the user may find that he/she plans to visit a neighbor and would like to have calls forwarded not to the user's home, but to the telephone of the neighbor. Unless the user has remotely controllable call forwarding, a service which is not universally available, the user cannot remotely request that calls be forwarded to different destinations (forwarding calls from the user's home is not satisfactory, since call forwarding is not normally permitted for more than once on any call).
As another example, consider the situation of a customer who has a call forwarding feature whereby the call forwarding number is settable and retained, but not activated unless a Call Forward Activation (CFA) button, on the customer's station, is pressed. Suppose this customer has set the call forward number to his/her cellular telephone number, but usually leaves the call forwarding feature inactive, so that incoming unanswered calls go to voice mail. Suppose further that the customer, while away from the office, wishes to change the disposition of incoming calls so that instead of getting voice mail, callers will be forwarded to the pre-stored cellular telephone number. Since the customer does not have physical access to the telephone station, he or she cannot press the CFA button and therefore cannot invoke call forwarding.
A problem of the prior art therefore, is that there is no satisfactory arrangement for controlling a telephone station from a remote or unconnected location. It is an object of this invention to provide such facilities without requiring changes in the software of the public switched telephone network since it is difficult to insure that such changes will be widely available to customers.
The above problem is solved and an advance is made over the prior art in accordance with Applicant's invention wherein a controlled telephone station is controlled by a connected computer (the controllable computer), and the controllable computer is connected by a data network to a controlling computer; the controlling and controlled computer have a software package for controlling a telephone, displaying the status and displays of that telephone, and communicating with another computer equipped with that application over a data network. The controlled computer transmits to the controlling computer all status and display information received from the controlled telephone station, and the controlling computer transmits to the controlled computer requests to control buttons on the controlled telephone.
In accordance with one feature of Applicant's invention, the controlled telephone has caller calling number identification, which is displayed on the telephone, and forwarded to the controlled computer. Controlled computer then forwards this display information to the controlling computer which allows a user at the controlling computer to monitor incoming calls. The user at the controlling computer can request a call transfer by the controlled telephone in order to pickup a particular telephone call.
In accordance with another feature of Applicant's invention, a user at a controlling computer can remotely operate, or release pre-set call forward buttons, remotely program a pre-set call forwarding button, or remotely cause the controlled telephone to originate a request for a dialed call forwarding number, the number being supplied from the controlling computer.
In accordance with another feature of Applicant's invention, the user at the controlling computer can request the controlled station to call a station of the controlling customer, and can then control the establishment of a conference call under the control of the controlling computer from the conference call being originated from the controlled telephone station.
More generally, in accordance with Applicant's invention, any function which can be performed through the operation of buttons or keys of the controlled telephone station, (the buttons and keys, including the buttons of a dialing keypad), can be controlled from the controlling computer.
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patent: 5309509 (1994-05-01), Cocklin et al.
patent: 5631954 (1997-05-01), Evans et al.
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patent: 5790652 (1998-08-01), Gulley et al.
patent: 5828741 (1998-10-01), Han
patent: 5870462 (1999-02-01), Vesterinen
patent: 5930700 (1999-07-01), Pepper et al.
patent: 6014437 (2000-01-01), Acker et al.
Lucent Technologies - Inc.
Matar Ahmad
Tieu Benny Q.
Ulrich Werner
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