Telephonic communications – Telephone line or system combined with diverse electrical... – Having transmission of a digital message signal over a...
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-22
2001-10-09
Woo, Stella (Department: 2743)
Telephonic communications
Telephone line or system combined with diverse electrical...
Having transmission of a digital message signal over a...
C379S093210, C379S211010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06301339
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates a system and method which provides connectivity between one or more remote users and a corporate office, wherein the remote users have a virtual presence at the corporate office, including access to the facilities and features provided by the corporate office telephone system and local area network, wherein the invention also provides the ability to receive home telephone calls on the same communication line used for the virtual presence connection.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Connectivity between remote workers and an office is becoming increasingly important in today's business climate. Business people who travel, commonly referred to as “road warriors”, desire to “stay connected” to the corporate office as much as possible. In addition, a current trend in business is the “telecommuter”, e.g., an employee who works primarily at home and is remotely connected to the corporate office. Another recent trend in business is referred to as the “remote small office” (RSO) or “branch office” (BO), wherein a group of workers or employees are in a location remote from the company's headquarters or corporate office and are electronically connected to the corporate office.
In each of the above situations, the remote individuals require remote and transparent connectivity to the corporate office, including connectivity to the corporate office local area network (LAN) and the corporate office private branch exchange (PBX) or Centrex Facility. In the present disclosure, a PBX and a Centrex Facility, as well as other types of telephony server systems, are referred to collectively as a PBX for convenience. Further, the remote individuals desire a “virtual presence” at the corporate office, wherein the remote users operate remotely just as if they were physically located in the corporate office.
As corporations move away from mainframe based systems to PC based systems and local area networks (LANs), the options for remote connectivity have improved. In general, personal computers and LANs facilitate remote access to computing resources. Remote connectivity is also made possible with the arrival of affordable, reliable, digital telecommunications services and inexpensive network hardware. Currently, a variety of digital telecommunications services now support remote connections to enterprise networks, among these being Frame Relay, ISDN, Digital Data Service, and T1.
Current remote connectivity software solutions provide remote access between computer systems at different physical locations. For example, one class of remote connectivity software, referred to as “remote control software”, allows a user at a local computer system to control and manipulate a remote computer system as if the user were present at the remote computer system. The user enters commands into the local computer, either through a command line or a graphical user interface (GUI), and software executing on the local computer transmits the commands from the local computer to the remote computer. The remote computer executes the commands and provides the output or response back to the local computer.
Applicant is aware of products from various PBX vendors which provide a degree of connectivity to the remote office based upon certain types of transmission media, such as ISDN. Applicant is specifically aware of a product from Siemens Rolm referred to as the Rolm Officepoint Communications system, which provides an integrated ISDN system for remote and small offices. Applicant is also aware of products offered by various remote access vendors which provide data only connectivity to the remote office. These products generally do not address the voice communication requirements of the user. Further, these products do not address the particular requirements of the road warrior.
Therefore, a system and method is desired which provides remote connectivity between a remote computer or communications device and a corporate office, wherein the system provides remote and transparent telephony and data access to the corporate office Private Branch Exchange (PBX) and local area network (LAN). A system and method is also desired which provides a remote user with a virtual presence at the corporate office, including access to all of the facilities and features of the corporate office PBX and LAN. It would also be highly desirable for a user to be able to receive home telephone calls while the user has a virtual presence connection to the corporate office. It would further be desirable for the user to be able to receive home telephone calls on the same telephone line or communication line being used for the virtual presence connection.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises a system and method for enabling a remote user to maintain a virtual presence at a corporate office. The present invention allows a remote user to connect to a corporate office and behave just as if the user were physically present at the corporate office. Thus the remote user's telephone behaves as a PBX extension. In addition, the remote user may send and receive faxes and email, have Internet access and maintain LAN connectivity, just as if the user were present at the corporate office.
The remote computer system includes a user telephony communication device, and the remote computer executes virtual presence software according to the present invention. The corporate office includes a virtual presence server according to the invention which connects to the corporate PBX and also to the corporate LAN. The virtual presence server executes software which enables the remote user to maintain a virtual presence at the corporate office.
When the remote user desires to establish a virtual presence at the corporate office, the remote user dials the virtual presence server and establishes a connection. This includes providing identification information and security information to the virtual presence server. Once the remote user is connected, the virtual presence server instructs the corporate PBX to automatically forward all calls to the remote user. The virtual presence server also routes email, faxes, and LAN data to the remote user. The virtual presence server also extends the corporate PBX and corporate LAN features to the remote user, just as if the remote user were physically located in the corporate office.
The present invention enables the concept of virtual presence or “telepresence”, whereby a user at a remote location has the full capabilities and user interfaces of the corporate office just as if the user were physically located at the corporate office. Thus the telephone of the remote user mirrors the telephone the user sees at the corporate office, including substantially the same button configurations at substantially the same locations and performing substantially the same functions. According to the present invention, the remote user dials the local extension number or DID (direct inward dialing) number of co-workers in the corporate office, and can be reached with a local extension number, just as if the remote user were physically located in the corporate office.
According to the invention, the remote user makes outgoing telephone calls, sends faxes, transmits data, sends email and performs Internet access as if the remote user were physically present in the corporate office. Likewise, incoming calls, faxes, data transmissions and email received at the corporate office are routed to the remote user as if the remote user were physically present in the corporate office.
Therefore, a co-worker or external party who telephones the user at the corporate office, or sends email or a fax to the user at the corporate office, is unaware that the user is actually not physically located at the corporate office, but rather is at a remote location. In general, a secretary or receptionist located just outside the user's physical corporate office location is unable to discern, without opening the door, whether the user is located in his office at the corporate office or at a remote
Barker W. B.
Staples Leven E.
Witt Ken
Conley Rose & Tayon PC
Data Race, Inc.
Hood Jeffrey C.
Kowert Robert C.
Woo Stella
LandOfFree
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