System and method for a home network telephone universal phonebook

• US 20030041030A1
• Filed: 03/20/2002
• Published: 02/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Mansfield, Carl
• Application Number:
  US10/102,245
• Publication Number:
  US 20030041030A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27457 Management thereof, e.g. manual editing of data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2746 Sorting, e.g. according to history or frequency of use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2748 by matching character strings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/575 Means for retrieving and displaying personal data about calling party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/715 using two or more extensions per line cordless telephones H04M1/725
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/44 Additional connecting arrangements for providing access to frequently-wanted subscribers, e.g. abbreviated dialling at the subscriber's set H04M1/27; automatic redialling H04M3/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0069 comprising a residential gateway, e.g. those which provide an adapter for POTS or ISDN terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1235 where one of the core networks is a wireless network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/125 Details of gateway equipment

Abstract

A system and method are provided for maintaining a universal phonebook in a Home Network telephone system. The universal phonebook system comprises a gateway to transceive calls via external communication medium and to act as a bridge between the external communication medium and a plurality of endpoint communications devices, which are typically telephones but can also be fax machines, video-phones, modems, or the like. The gateway also maintains a universal phonebook that is accessible to all of the plurality of endpoints. The gateway establishes an out-of-band control channel between the gateway and each endpoint accessing the universal phonebook.

The gateway transceives calls on external communication medium that communicate call information in a format such as voice over cable modem (VoCM), voice over DSL (VoDSL), voice over ATM (VoATM), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), integrated service digital network (ISDN), or plain old telephone service (POTS). The endpoints are connected with the gateway with connection interfaces such as wireless, convention telephone line, AC powerline, or dedicated hardline connections. The universal phonebook stores entries as a number/descriptor pair. The descriptor is an ASCII string with a “who” associated with a number in a way that is meaningful to the user. For example, a descriptor can be a full name, a nickname, an abbreviated name, or a business associated with the number. The descriptors can be retrieved from the UPB and presented to the user by the use of option categories. Examples of option categories include friends, colleagues, business, and personal. Once the user selects an option category, only the entries from that category are presented.

Claims

1. In a Home Network telephone system, a method for maintaining a universal phonebook, the method comprising:

establishing a gateway to serve a plurality Home Network endpoints; and

,

maintaining a universal phonebook accessible to the endpoints.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein establishing a gateway to serve a plurality Home Network endpoints includes serving the endpoints through connection interfaces selected from the group including wireless, convention telephone line, AC powerline, Ethernet transmission media, and dedicated hardline connections.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

accessing the universal phonebook from an endpoint; and

,

displaying entries from the universal phonebook at the endpoint.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein establishing a gateway includes:

transceiving calls on external communication media that communicate call information in a first format;

converting between the first format and a digital Home Network format;

establishing traffic channels to communicate information to the endpoints in the Home Network format; and

,

establishing a control channel for communications with the universal phonebook.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein establishing a control channel for communications with the universal phonebook includes establishing an out-of-band control channel between the gateway and each endpoint accessing the universal phonebook.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein transceiving calls on external communication medium that communicate call information in a first format includes a first format selected from the group including voice over cable modem (VoCM), voice over DSL (VoDSL), voice over ATM (VoATM), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), fixed wireless access (FWA), or fibre to the home (FTTH), integrated services digital network (ISDN), and plain old telephone service (POTS).

7. The method of claim 5 wherein maintaining a universal phonebook accessible to the endpoints includes using the gateway to maintain a centralized phonebook.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein maintaining a universal phonebook accessible to the endpoints includes maintaining a universal phonebook accessible to all of the plurality of endpoints.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

establishing a connection between an input/output (I/O) device and the gateway; and

,

using the I/O device, editing universal phonebook entries.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

establishing a security protocol for protecting the universal phonebook editing function; and

,

prior to using the I/O device to edit universal phonebook entries, passing the security protocol.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

using a printer associated with the I/0 device, printing the universal phonebook.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein establishing a control channel for communications between an endpoint and the universal phonebook includes editing universal phonebook entries from the endpoint.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

establishing a control channel security protocol for protecting the universal phonebook editing function; and

,

prior to using the endpoint to edit universal phonebook entries, passing the control channel security protocol.

14. The method of claim 8 wherein maintaining a universal phonebook accessible to the endpoints includes maintaining the universal phonebook in nonvolatile memory.

15. The method of claim 8 wherein maintaining a universal phonebook accessible to the endpoints includes maintaining entries with telephone numbers paired to descriptors.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein maintaining a universal phonebook accessible to the endpoints includes maintaining a universal phonebook with entries cross-referenced to option categories.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein accessing the universal phonebook from the endpoint includes selecting an option category from the endpoint;

and,

wherein displaying entries in the universal phonebook at the endpoint includes returning universal phonebook entries cross-referenced to the selected option category.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein selecting an option category includes selecting an option category selected from the group including user, endpoint, general, pre-defined, and user-defined.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein accessing the universal phonebook from the endpoint includes:

accessing the universal phonebook from a first endpoint; and

,

automatically selecting an option category associated with the first endpoint.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein accessing the universal phonebook from an endpoint includes:

selecting an option category;

selecting an entry;

wherein displaying entries in the universal phonebook at the endpoint includes;

locating the selected entry in the selected option category; and

,

returning telephone number/descriptor pairs associated with the selected entry.

21. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

storing a local phonebook of entries, with telephone number/descriptor pairs, at each endpoint; and

,

in response to losing access to the universal phonebook from an endpoint, accessing the endpoint local phonebook.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein storing a local phonebook of entries includes storing entries cross-referenced to option categories.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein accessing the endpoint local phonebook includes selecting an option category;

and,

the method further comprising;

displaying entries in the endpoint local phonebook cross-referenced to the selected option category.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein selecting an endpoint local phonebook option category includes selecting a category from the group including user, endpoint, general, pre-defined, and user-defined.

25. The method of claim 21 further comprising:

maintaining a copy of each endpoint local phonebook at the gateway.

26. The method of claim 25 further comprising:

upon initialization of an endpoint, accessing the local phonebook at the gateway;

downloading the local phonebook to the endpoint; and

storing the downloaded local phonebook at the endpoint.

27. The method of claim 26 further comprising:

establishing a connection between an input/output (I/O) device and the gateway; and

,

using the I/O device, editing a local phonebook stored at the gateway.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising:

editing the local phonebook stored at the gateway in response to commands selected from an endpoint user interface.

29. The method of claim 28 further comprising:

establishing a security protocol for editing the local phonebook stored at the gateway; and

,

prior to editing the local phonebook stored at the gateway, passing the security protocol.

30. The method of claim 15 wherein establishing a control channel for communications with the universal phonebook includes:

communicating an out-of-band message, from an endpoint to the gateway, with an entry; and

,

communicating an out-of-band message, from the gateway to the endpoint, returning telephone numbers paired to descriptors.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein communicating an out-of-band message, from an endpoint to the gateway, with a entry includes communicating an entry fragment;

wherein communicating an out-of-band message, from the gateway to the endpoint, returning telephone numbers paired to descriptors includes;

selecting all entries including the entry fragment; and

,

returning telephone number/descriptor pairs associated with each selected entry.

32. The method of claim 30 wherein communicating an out-of-band message, from the endpoint to the gateway, with a entry includes entering one entry character per out-of-band message;

and,

wherein communicating an out-of-band message, from the gateway to the endpoint, returning telephone numbers paired to descriptors includes;

refining the list of entries in response to each received character; and

,

returning the refined list of telephone numbers paired to descriptors in every out-of-band message.

33. The method of claim 30 wherein communicating an out-of-band message, from the endpoint to the gateway, with an entry includes specifying the endpoint memory capacity;

and,

wherein communicating an out-of-band message, from the gateway to the endpoint, returning telephone numbers paired to descriptors includes returning a list telephone number/descriptor pairs whose size is responsive to the endpoint memory capacity.

34. The method of claim 8 wherein transceiving calls on external communication medium that communicate call information in a first format includes:

receiving calling line ID (CLID) information for incoming calls;

identifying a telephone number for an incoming call, using the calling line ID information;

the method further comprising;

using the universal phonebook to cross-reference the identified telephone number to a descriptor; and

,

communicating the cross-referenced descriptor to the endpoint.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein identifying a telephone number for an incoming call, using the calling line ID information, includes the gateway decoding the calling line ID information.

36. The method of claim 34 wherein identifying a telephone number for an incoming call, using the calling line ID information, includes:

communicating the calling line ID information to an endpoint using in-band signalling;

at the endpoint, decoding the calling line ID information into an identified telephone number;

communicating the identified telephone number to the gateway in an out-of-band message; and

wherein using the universal phonebook to cross-reference the identified telephone number to a descriptor includes using the telephone number identified by the endpoint.

37. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing a backup copy of the universal phonebook at a first endpoint.

38. In a Home Network telephone system, a system for maintaining a universal phonebook, the universal phonebook system comprising:

a gateway having an input to transceive calls on external communication medium, the gateway maintaining an accessible universal phonebook and supplying a communications bridge to an output; and

,

a plurality of endpoints, each endpoint having a port connected to the gateway output for accessing the universal phonebook.

39. The system of claim 38 wherein the endpoints are connected with the gateway using connection interfaces selected from the group including wireless, convention communication media, AC powerline, Ethernet transmission media, and dedicated hardline connections.

40. The system of claim 39 wherein each endpoint includes a local interface for making universal phonebook access entries and a display to depict entries from the universal phonebook, in response to accessing the universal phonebook.

41. The system of claim 40 wherein the gateway transceives calls on external communication medium that communicate call information in a first format, converts between the first format and a digital Home Network format, establishes traffic channels to communicate information to the endpoint communication devices in the Home Network format, and establishes a control channel for accessing the universal phonebook from the endpoint communication devices.

42. The system of claim 41 wherein the gateway establishes an out-of-band control channel between the gateway and each endpoint communication device accessing the universal phonebook.

43. The system of claim 42 wherein the gateway transceives calls on external communication medium that communicate call information in a first format selected from the group including voice over ATM (VoATM), voice over cable modem (VoCM), voice over DSL (VoDSL), voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), fixed wireless access (FWA), or fibre to the home (FTTH), integrated service digital network (ISDN), and plain old telephone service (POTS).

44. The system of claim 42 wherein the gateway maintains a universal phonebook accessible to all of the plurality of endpoints.

45. The system of claim 44 wherein the gateway universal phonebook stores each entry as a telephone number paired with a descriptor.

46. The system of claim 44 wherein the gateway includes a nonvolatile memory for storing the universal phonebook.

47. The system of claim 44 wherein the gateway universal phonebook cross-references a plurality of option categories to entries;

wherein an endpoint selects an option category; and

,

wherein the gateway universal phonebook provides access to the entries in the selected option category.

48. The system of claim 47 wherein the gateway universal phonebook includes option categories being selected from the group including user, endpoint, general, pre-defined, and user-defined.

49. The system of claim 48 wherein a first endpoint requests access to the universal phonebook;

and,

wherein the gateway automatically provides access to entries in an option category associated from the first endpoint.

50. The system of claim 48 wherein a first endpoint selects an option category associated with a first user;

and,

wherein the gateway provides access to entries in an option category associated with the first user.

51. The system of claim 44 wherein each endpoint includes a local phonebook of entries.

52. The system of claim 51 wherein an endpoint accesses its local phonebook in response to losing access to the gateway universal phonebook.

53. The system of claim 51 wherein the endpoint local phonebook stores each entry as a telephone number paired with a descriptor.

54. The system of claim 53 wherein the endpoint local phonebook cross-references a plurality of option categories to entries, wherein the endpoint selects an option category and the local phonebook provides access to the entries in the selected option category.

55. The system of claim 54 wherein the endpoint local phonebook includes option categories being selected from the group including full names, nicknames, user-defined groups, groups defined by the endpoint accessing the universal phonebook, most recent calls, most frequent calls, and categories defined by the external communication media selected.

56. The system of claim 51 wherein the gateway universal phonebook includes a local phonebook entity section;

wherein each endpoint transmits a copy of its local phonebook to the gateway local phonebook entity section; and

,

wherein the gateway supplies the corresponding copy of the local phonebook in response to a request from an endpoint.

57. The system of claim 51 wherein the gateway has an input/output (I/O) interface;

the system further comprising;

an input/output (I/O) device having an output connected to the gateway I/O interface for editing universal phonebook entries.

58. The system of claim 57 wherein the gateway establishes a security protocol for enabling access to the universal phonebook;

and,

wherein the I/O device passes the gateway security protocol, prior to editing the universal phonebook.

59. The system of claim 57 further comprising:

a printer having an input connected to the I/0 device; and

,

wherein the I/O device enables the printer to print universal phonebook entries in response to communications with the gateway.

60. The system of claim 51 wherein an endpoint uses the control channel established by the gateway for editing universal phonebook entries.

61. The system of claim 60 wherein the gateway establishes a control channel security protocol for editing the universal phonebook;

and,

wherein an endpoint passes the gateway security protocol prior to editing universal phonebook entries.

62. The system of claim 44 wherein an endpoint communicates an out-of-band message to the gateway requesting access to an entry;

and,

wherein the gateway communicates an out-of-band message returning entries having a telephone number paired to a descriptor.

63. The system of claim 62 wherein the endpoint communicates an entry fragment in an out-of-band message;

and,

wherein the gateway selects all entries including the communicated entry fragment and returns telephone number/descriptor pairs associated with the selected entries in an out-of-band message.

64. The system of claim 62 wherein the endpoint enters one entry character per out-of-band message;

and,

wherein the gateway refines the list of entries in response to each received character and returns the refined list of telephone numbers paired to descriptors in every out-of-band message.

65. The system of claim 62 wherein the endpoint communicating an out-of-band message to the gateway specifying the endpoint memory capacity;

and,

wherein the gateway communicating an out-of-band message with a list telephone number/descriptor pairs whose size is responsive to the endpoint memory capacity.

66. The system of claim 44 wherein the gateway receives calling line ID (CLID) information for incoming calls on the external communication medium, uses the universal phonebook to cross-reference an identified telephone number to a descriptor, and communicates the cross-referenced descriptor to the endpoint communication device to which the incoming call is addressed.

67. The system of claim 66 wherein the gateway identifies a telephone number for an incoming call by decoding the calling line ID information.

68. The system of claim 66 wherein the gateway communicates the calling line ID information to an endpoint using in-band signaling;

wherein the endpoint decodes the calling line ID information into an identified telephone number and communicates the identified telephone number to the gateway; and

,

wherein the gateway uses the universal phonebook to cross-reference the identified telephone number to a descriptor and communicates the identified descriptor back to the endpoint.

69. The system of claim 44 wherein the plurality of endpoints are selected from the group including telephones, fax machines, multifunction peripherals (MFPs), video-telephones, computers, wireless devices, and hardwired devices.

70. The system of claim 44 wherein an endpoint includes a backup memory for saving an emergency copy of the universal phonebook;

and,

wherein the gateway transmits a copy of the universal phonebook to the endpoint backup memory.